MenloAI Asimov

Asimov 1 is an open humanoid from Menlo Research, also sold as a kit you can build yourself. It is about 1.2 m tall, weighs about 35 kg and has 25 powered joints. It is aimed at developers and researchers working on whole-body control and locomotion.

History

Menlo says it started with a humanoid it bought to run its own AI on. On the first learned walking policy the robot slammed its leg into the floor and broke a small metal part in the ankle; the distributor could not fix it and the company waited two months for the part. So the team built its own legs, then a torso and a full body, plus a simulator so everyone could work without sharing one robot. The result was Asimov.

Asimov 1 is on sale now, and Menlo lists Asimov 2 as in progress.

Hardware

Menlo's docs list Asimov 1 at about 1.2 m and 35 kg with 25 powered joints: 6 per leg, 5 per arm, 1 at the waist and 2 in the neck. Each arm lifts 5 kg rated and up to 15 kg peak.

A Radxa CM5 handles motion control and a Raspberry Pi 5 handles media and networking. The robot has an IMU, a camera, a stereo microphone array and a speaker, and runs on a 13S4P lithium-ion battery. The design is open: Menlo publishes step-by-step assembly instructions and a bill of materials so owners can repair and modify it.

Software and AI

Asimov ships with firmware containing a full-body walking policy, directional teleoperation, direct actuator access through Asimov Edge or the SDK, and telemetry. Menlo also offers a free browser-based Digital Asimov twin for testing code without hardware, and says the same policy trained in simulation runs on the real robot.

Manufacturer

Menlo Research is a team spread across Singapore, Vietnam and the US, with offices in Palo Alto, Sim Lim Square in Singapore and an R&D centre in Ho Chi Minh City. Assembly and service partners operate in the US and Singapore.

Price and availability

Asimov 1 can be ordered with a $499 deposit or invoiced to a company; Menlo ships worldwide and covers duties in most countries. No full price was found in official material; a $15,000 figure appears only in third-party posts quoted on the site, as a price goal for the DIY kit.

Sources

1. Asimov 1 | Menlo Research, Menlo Research (2026-10)
2. Asimov 1 overview and specification (docs), Menlo Research (2026-10)
3. Company (our story, offices), Menlo Research (2026-10)
4. Menlo Research home page, Menlo Research (2026-10)

Updated: 2026-10-10

Compared with the catalogue

• At 120 cm the MenloAI Asimov is taller than 2% of the humanoids in the catalogue (median: 170 cm).
• It has 25 degrees of freedom against a catalogue median of 28; more degrees of freedom usually means finer arm and hand movement.
• Its weight of 35 kg (catalogue median: 65 kg) matters for transport and for working around people.
• It is the only MenloAI model in the catalogue and one of 43 humanoids from USA.

Capabilities