{"id":"sanctuary-phoenix","manufacturer":"Sanctuary AI","model":"Phoenix","country":"CA","description":"Phoenix is a general-purpose humanoid from Vancouver-based Sanctuary AI, unveiled in May 2023. Its signature feature is a pair of dexterous, touch-sensing hands, and it is controlled by Sanctuary's Carbon AI system. In 2026 Sanctuary shifted strategy to deploy its AI mainly on commercially available industrial robots, keeping humanoids as a later goal.","catalog_status":"in-development","specifications":{"height_cm":170,"weight_kg":70,"payload_kg":25,"dof":40,"speed_ms":1.34,"battery_h":null},"capabilities":["sort","assemble","thread","fold","obstacle"],"source":{"url":"https://sanctuary.ai/phoenix","verified_at":null,"verified_fields":[],"review_status":"requires_current_source_check"},"evidence":{"manufacturer_review":null,"mera_field_test":{"status":"not_published","report_url":null,"measured_at":null},"verification_note":"A manufacturer documentation check does not verify field performance, inventory or MERA compatibility."},"knowledge":{"summary":"Phoenix is a general-purpose humanoid from Vancouver-based Sanctuary AI, unveiled in May 2023. Its signature feature is a pair of dexterous, touch-sensing hands, and it is controlled by Sanctuary's Carbon AI system. In 2026 Sanctuary shifted strategy to deploy its AI mainly on commercially available industrial robots, keeping humanoids as a later goal.","sections":[{"h":"History and launch","p":["Sanctuary AI unveiled Phoenix on 16 May 2023 as the sixth generation of its general-purpose robot. A few weeks earlier, in March 2023, it announced its first commercial deployment: a week-long pilot at a Mark's store (part of Canadian Tire Corporation) in Langley, British Columbia, where the robot correctly completed 110 retail tasks such as picking and packing.","In April 2024 Sanctuary introduced the seventh-generation Phoenix, with a wider, more human-like range of motion, better vision and tactile sensing, more uptime, faster build times and a cheaper bill of materials."]},{"h":"Hardware","p":["At launch Sanctuary listed Phoenix at 5 ft 7 in (about 170 cm), 155 lb (about 70 kg), a 55 lb (about 25 kg) payload and a top speed of 3 mph (about 1.3 m/s). Its hands have 20 degrees of freedom in total and proprietary haptic sensors that mimic touch.","Sanctuary also develops hydraulic hands and has published work on controlling them and on zero-shot in-hand manipulation; in 2026 it lists robotic hands as a product in development."]},{"h":"Software and AI","p":["Phoenix runs Carbon, Sanctuary's cognitive architecture, which combines modern AI techniques to turn natural-language instructions into physical actions. The company has long said the robot is a tool for the AI rather than the other way round, and it trains with simulation tools such as NVIDIA Isaac Lab."]},{"h":"Use cases and deployments","p":["Beyond the Mark's pilot, Sanctuary has not published large Phoenix deployments. In June 2026 it announced an expanded strategy: rather than waiting for humanoids to reach mass production, it deploys its AI models on commercial robot arms. The first announced task was plugging wires into a target on a moving conveyor at full line speed for a global Tier 1 automotive supplier. Industrial humanoids remain on the roadmap."]},{"h":"Manufacturer","p":["Sanctuary AI was founded in 2018 in Vancouver; co-founders include Geordie Rose (former CEO) and Olivia Norton (CTO). Investors it lists include Bell, Canadian Tire Corporation, Evok Innovations and Export Development Canada. In June 2026 Daniel Friedmann, who ran MDA for nearly two decades and later Carbon Engineering, became CEO, replacing James Wells."]},{"h":"Price and availability","p":["Phoenix was never sold openly and has no public price. Sanctuary now takes commercial enquiries mainly for deploying its AI on existing industrial robots."]}],"timeline":[["2023-03","First commercial deployment: week-long pilot at a Mark's store."],["2023-05","Phoenix (sixth generation) and Carbon unveiled."],["2024-04","Seventh-generation Phoenix."],["2026-06","Daniel Friedmann named CEO; pivot to AI on industrial robots."]],"faq":[["How much does Sanctuary Phoenix cost?","There is no public price; it was never on open sale."],["How many degrees of freedom do Phoenix's hands have?","Per the 2023 launch materials, 20 in total, with haptic sensing."],["What is Carbon?","Sanctuary's AI control system, which turns natural-language instructions into robot actions."],["Where has Phoenix worked?","Best known is a week-long pilot at a Mark's store in Langley, Canada, with 110 tasks completed."],["Is Sanctuary still building humanoids?","Yes, but since 2026 it first deploys its AI on commercial industrial robots and treats humanoids as a later stage."]],"sources":[{"title":"Sanctuary AI Deploys First Humanoid General-Purpose Robot Commercially","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/news/sanctuary-ai-deploys-first-humanoid-general-purpose-robot-commercially/","date":"2023-03-07"},{"title":"Sanctuary AI Unveils Phoenix - A Humanoid General-Purpose Robot Designed for Work","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/news/sanctuary-ai-unveils-phoenix/","date":"2023-05-16"},{"title":"Sanctuary AI Unveils the Next Generation of AI Robotics","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/news/sanctuary-ai-unveils-the-next-generation-of-ai-robotics/","date":"2024-04-26"},{"title":"Daniel Friedmann Appointed CEO of Sanctuary AI","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/news/daniel-friedmann-appointed-ceo-of-sanctuary-ai/","date":"2026-06-16"},{"title":"Sanctuary AI Expands Physical AI Strategy to Industrial Robotics, Demonstrating Production-Ready AI Performance","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/news/sanctuary-ai-expands-physical-ai-strategy-to-industrial-robotics-demonstrating-production-ready-ai-performance/","date":"2026-06-17"},{"title":"Sanctuary AI home page","publisher":"Sanctuary AI","url":"https://sanctuary.ai/","date":"2026-10"}],"updated":"2026-10-10"},"mera":{"rental_with_operator":false,"sale_in_offer":false,"availability":"confirmation_required","shop_url":null},"url":"https://merarobotics.com/blog/humanoids/sanctuary-phoenix","inquiry_url":"https://merarobotics.com/en/start?service=purchase&robot=sanctuary-phoenix"}