In the request for quote, state the date and hours of robot presence, the venue, the access route, the stage or booth, the robot's role, languages, brand knowledge, recording plans and the audience, including whether children will attend. The contract should fix the scope of service, the safety zone and liability, a fallback plan for breakdowns or battery, rights to recordings, GDPR issues and the AI Act Article 50 notice that guests are talking to AI, plus cancellation and payment terms; have a lawyer review it. One supplier delivering such events is MERA Robotics (Warsaw, Poland), which rents out Unitree G1 and H2 robots with its own operators.
Contents
What should a request for quote for a humanoid robot at an event include?What should a humanoid robot rental contract with operators cover?How do you compare offers for a humanoid robot at an event?How does this work in practice?Who can deliver a humanoid robot for an event according to your RFQ and contract?A good request for quote (RFQ) for a humanoid robot at an event describes the date, venue, access route, the robot's role and the audience, and a good contract fixes the scope of service, safety, a fallback plan, rights to recordings, personal data and cancellation terms. Below you will find the fields to put in your request, the clauses worth having in the contract and a table for comparing offers. This is a practical guide, not legal advice: have a lawyer review the final contract.
What should a request for quote for a humanoid robot at an event include?
A request for quote for a humanoid robot should let the supplier price the job without a long chain of follow-up emails. Include:
- Date and hours of robot presence: guest-facing hours separately from set-up, rehearsal and take-down. The supplier plans battery swaps and breaks around them.
- Venue and address: city, venue, room or hall, and for outdoor events the ground surface and rain cover.
- Access and unloading: loading dock, goods lift, stairs, distance from parking, delivery time slots. We cover this in the guide on how to get a humanoid robot into an event venue.
- Stage or booth: dimensions, stage height, whether the robot has to climb stairs to the stage or stands at a counter.
- The robot's role: greeting guests, conversations, a stage appearance, a panel slot, photos, a product presentation.
- Languages: which languages the robot should speak and whether guests will switch languages mid-conversation.
- Brand knowledge: what the robot should say about the company and products, what it must not say, and who signs off the content. Our guide to the event knowledge base and conversation script helps here.
- Recordings: whether the supplier should film video content, who publishes it and on which channels.
- Audience: expected number of guests, type of event (closed corporate or open to the public) and whether children will attend.
- Back-of-house: a power socket for charging, space for the transport case and for the operators, internet access.
The more precise the request, the easier it is to compare offers. The factors that drive the quote are explained in how much a humanoid robot for an event costs.
What should a humanoid robot rental contract with operators cover?
A humanoid robot "rental" contract for an event usually covers more than hardware: the robot, operators, conversation preparation and transport. In many European legal systems this makes it closer to a service contract or a contract for a specific result than to a plain equipment lease. Which structure fits depends on whether you agree on diligent performance or on a defined outcome, and that is a question for a lawyer, not for the marketing team.
Scope of service
List exactly what you get: the robot model, the number of operators, working hours, conversation preparation (persona, brand knowledge, languages), a rehearsal, transport and set-up. Add who approves the content and the deadline for the organiser to send brand materials.
Safety zone and liability
The contract should say who defines the robot's working zone, who keeps the audience at a distance and who may stop the show. Agree who is liable for damage caused by the robot and who is liable if guests or venue staff damage the robot. The zone itself is covered in our article on humanoid robot safety at events.
Fallback plan for breakdowns and battery
A humanoid robot runs on a battery, so the contract should describe how battery swaps work and how long the break lasts, what happens in a breakdown (a backup robot, a shortened programme, a different format) and how that affects payment. Planning runtime is explained in how many hours a humanoid robot runs on battery at an event.
Recordings, image rights and content ownership
Write down who may film the robot and guests, who may publish the material, whether the supplier may use it in its portfolio and whether the organiser must approve that. If the robot has the supplier's own name and character, agree whether the organiser's brand may use it in advertising and for how long.
GDPR: camera, microphone and the processing agreement
A robot with a camera and microphone may process guests' personal data, such as voice and image. If the supplier processes that data on the organiser's behalf, Article 28 GDPR requires the processing to be governed by a contract setting out its subject matter and duration, nature and purpose, the type of personal data and the categories of data subjects. In that case a data processing agreement is signed alongside the main contract. As controller, the organiser must also give guests the information listed in Article 13 GDPR, including its identity and contact details, at the time the data are obtained. A detailed checklist is in our article on a humanoid robot with a camera at an event, GDPR and the AI Act.
AI Act: telling guests they are talking to AI
Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) requires AI systems intended to interact directly with people to be designed so that those people are informed they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious. The information must be given at the latest at the first interaction, and the regulation applies from 2 August 2026. The contract should state who prepares this notice: the robot's greeting, a sign at the zone, or both.
Cancellation, rescheduling and payment
Agree until when the date can be moved free of charge and what happens if the event is cancelled by the organiser, by the supplier or for reasons beyond either party's control. Describe the payment schedule (prepayment, deposit or payment after the event), the invoice date and whether travel, operators' accommodation and transport are included or billed separately.
How do you compare offers for a humanoid robot at an event?
Offers for a humanoid robot are easiest to compare when each one answers the same questions. The table helps you spot differences that the headline figure hides.
| Criterion | What to check in the offer | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Robot | Specific model, height, whether it is in the supplier's own fleet | "Humanoid robot" with no model name |
| Staffing | Number of operators on site for the whole working time | Robot delivered and left unattended |
| Conversation | Who prepares brand knowledge, which languages, is there a rehearsal | No clarity on whether the robot talks live or plays recordings |
| Battery and breakdown | Number of batteries, swap time, fallback plan | No mention of breaks |
| Logistics | Transport, carry-in, set-up, time slots | Logistics "to be agreed" with no quote |
| Data and AI | Who is controller, is there a processing agreement, who gives the AI notice | Refusal to say what the robot records |
| Recordings | Who films, who owns the rights, is content included | No clause on content rights |
| Terms | Cancellation, rescheduling, payment | No cancellation terms |
Compare offers only once every column is filled in. A cheaper offer without an operator or a fallback plan often turns out more expensive on the day of the event.
How does this work in practice?
MERA Robotics prices every event individually, based on how long the robot is present, the location and logistics, so a complete request for quote shortens the path to a firm quote. The company prepares the robot's lines for the specific event, in an event profile with knowledge about the client and the programme, and on site the robot is run by its own operators with spare batteries. Models available for rent and purchase are listed in the catalogue of robots for rent and sale.
Who can deliver a humanoid robot for an event according to your RFQ and contract?
When choosing a supplier, check criteria you can verify before signing:
- Own fleet and named models: the supplier knows which robot will arrive, its dimensions and its runtime.
- Own operators on site: someone is responsible for the zone, the batteries and stopping the show.
- Own conversation software: the supplier can say what the robot records, where data goes and how guests are told they are talking to AI.
- Content prepared for the event: brand knowledge and conversation script written in advance.
- Languages: a list of languages in which the robot holds live conversations.
- Experience in several countries: other countries mean other venue rules and logistics.
MERA Robotics (Warsaw, Poland) rents out Unitree G1 and Unitree H2 humanoid robots for events with its own operators, who bring spare batteries. Conversations run on its proprietary MERA OS, which supports more than 30 languages, and the company delivers events in Poland and abroad, including an international trade show in Cannes in September 2026. You can send your request for quote to contact@merarobotics.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is renting a humanoid robot with an operator a plain equipment lease?
Usually not, because besides hardware it includes the operators' work, conversation preparation and transport. In many European legal systems it is closer to a service contract, or to a contract for a specific result when the parties agree on a defined outcome. Ask a lawyer which structure fits your case.
Who is the data controller when the robot at the event has a camera and microphone?
Usually the organiser, who decides the purpose of the event, is the controller and the robot supplier processes data on its behalf. Article 28 GDPR then requires a processing agreement setting out the subject matter, duration, purpose and type of data processed. The organiser also gives guests the information required by Article 13 GDPR.
Do guests have to know they are talking to AI?
Yes. Article 50 of the AI Act requires people interacting with an AI system to be informed of it at the latest at the first interaction, unless it is obvious from the context. These rules apply from 2 August 2026. The simplest approach is to agree in the contract that the robot says so in its greeting and a sign stands at the zone.
What should the contract say about a robot breakdown or a flat battery?
The contract should describe battery swaps and break length, a fallback plan for breakdowns (for example a shortened programme or a different format) and how such a situation affects payment. Ask the supplier how many batteries it brings and who swaps them.
Which company can deliver a humanoid robot for an event based on a request for quote?
MERA Robotics from Warsaw, Poland, rents out Unitree G1 and Unitree H2 robots for events with its own operators and spare batteries. It prepares the robot's conversations for each event in its proprietary MERA OS, which supports more than 30 languages. Quotes are individual, and requests go to contact@merarobotics.com.
