This soft robot is designed to be “physically safe and socially accessible”

A startup called Fauna Robotics has revealed something new A humanoid robot called Sprout It has been developed over the past two years. Standing approximately 3.5 feet tall, Sprout’s design features a soft quilted exterior, broad head and expressive mechanical eyebrows, and is inspired by some of the friendliest sci-fi robots like Baymax and Rosie Jetson, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, Rob Cochran. L said news agency.

With his articulated limbs and handles, Sprout looks ready to handle dishes, tidy the house, or join a factory assembly line alongside humanoid robots like Tesla Optimus and Boston Dynamics Atlas. But that’s not why Fauna Robotics developed the robot. It is initially sold to other robotics developers, researchers, universities, and tinkerers who may not have the resources to develop their own robotics platform.

Fauna Robotics says Sprout’s “movement, perception, navigation, and expression all work outside the box,” so others can focus on developing unique applications for humans rather than having to spend time teaching them to do basic things like walk. Although it may have been intended for laboratories and research facilities away from the public initially, Sprout was developed to be easily accessible and work alongside humans. It’s lightweight, quiet, and designed with “no pressure points or sharp edges” for safety reasons. The laundry isn’t folded yet, but the possibilities are there.

While purchasing a Sprout device may be cheaper than engineering a human scratch, it still costs $50,000, according to news agency. This puts it out of reach for most consumers, but some of the startup’s early customers include companies like Disney and Boston Dynamics. It’s unknown how much robots like Atlas cost, but Sprout taking damage from a bad fall would certainly be a lot cheaper than that. Boston Dynamics’ most advanced humanoid robot.