whirrwork

Research, Education & Telepresence

Research robot platforms

Short answer Published prices for research robot platforms run $1,850–$15,999 per unit (2 prices from 2 sources, global and United States; newest dated Oct 25, 2026). Every receipt is below.

Mobile manipulators, quadrupeds and humanoids for research labs.

People ask for this as: “research robot platform”, “robot dog for research”

Quick facts

Typical published range
$1,850–$15,999 per unit
Price receipts
2 prices from 2 sources
Who does it
13 providers
Where
1 country with a local provider: 🇰🇷 South Korea

Last updated · Cite this page

How it works

Robots used

  • Quadruped
  • Humanoid
  • Mobile Manipulator

Ways to buy it

  • Purchase Buy the robot (plus software and service plans, usually).
  • Rental — the machine for days or weeks.

Bot or Not?

A robot makes sense when…

  • The job is high, dangerous, or hard to reach
  • It is huge or repetitive (acres, nights, square metres)
  • You need data you will compare over time
  • You need eyes on it right now

Hire a human when…

  • It is small, low and one-off
  • It needs hands, judgement or a repair
  • Weather, permits or timing make robots awkward
  • Nobody has defined the job yet

Here's the catch for this job

  • Education discounts are common — ask.
  • Check open-source/ROS support for research platforms.

Rules of thumb, not a sales pitch. Take the Ladder Test →

What it costs

Published ranges, each with a receipt. Not quotes: your price depends on scope, location and date. older price = 18+ months.

USD / unitlinear scale · 4 receipts
  1. Unitree Go2 quadruped robot (official store, from)from $1,600shop.unitree.com · Oct 2026
  2. Clearpath TurtleBot 4 (ROS 2 research/education mobile robot), reseller list price, backordered — Robotics Center · US$1,850roboticscenter.ai · Oct 25, 2026
  3. Unitree G1 humanoid purchase price (official store) · global$13,500–$15,999shop.unitree.com · Oct 2026
  4. Unitree G1 humanoid robot (official store; list $15,999)$13,500–$15,999shop.unitree.com · Oct 2026
All 2 receipts as a table
WhatRangeUnitRegionReceipt
Unitree G1 humanoid purchase price (official store)$13,500–$15,999/ unitglobalshop.unitree.com
as of Oct 2026
Clearpath TurtleBot 4 (ROS 2 research/education mobile robot), reseller list price, backordered — Robotics Center$1,850/ unitUSroboticscenter.ai
as of Oct 25, 2026

Prices published by providers

WhatRangeUnitRegionReceipt
Unitree G1 humanoid robot (official store; list $15,999)
via Unitree Robotics
$13,500–$15,999/ unit—shop.unitree.com
as of Oct 2026
Unitree Go2 quadruped robot (official store, from)
via Unitree Robotics
from $1,600/ unit—shop.unitree.com
as of Oct 2026

Dataset: Research robot platforms price receipts (Whirrwork). 2 published prices for research robot platforms, each with its source link and as-of date. Old observations are kept, never overwritten. JSON · history JSON · all downloads · CC BY 4.0

Follow price changes for this job Atom feed: one entry per new or changed price, with its receipt. All feeds

Price history

Only one observation per series so far: we started recording every price on 2026-10-25 and re-check every source on a schedule. A trend appears when a re-checked source shows a different price (we never overwrite old observations).

SeriesLatestObservationsObservedTrendReceipt
Unitree G1 humanoid purchase price (official store)$13,500–$15,999 / unit1Oct 25, 2026
✓ re-checked Oct 25, 2026
—shop.unitree.com
Unitree G1 humanoid robot (official store; list $15,999)
via Unitree Robotics
$13,500–$15,999 / unit1Oct 25, 2026
✓ re-checked Oct 25, 2026
—shop.unitree.com
Unitree Go2 quadruped robot (official store, from)
via Unitree Robotics
from $1,600 / unit1Oct 25, 2026
✓ re-checked Oct 25, 2026
—shop.unitree.com
Clearpath TurtleBot 4 (ROS 2 research/education mobile robot), reseller list price,…$1,850 / unit1Oct 25, 2026—roboticscenter.ai

Sources re-checked: 3 of 3 series confirmed on the live source (last check Oct 25, 2026). Log: price_rechecks.jsonl

Append-only: we never overwrite a recorded price. JSON: /api/prices/history?use_case=research-robot-platforms

What to specify and ask

Put these in your request and you'll get a real price instead of "it depends":

  1. Research area (manipulation, locomotion, navigation)
  2. Software stack (ROS 2, simulation)
  3. Institution type
  4. Number of students/users
  5. Curriculum or research goal
  6. Budget
  7. Support needs

Rules and regulation

Generally unregulated; telepresence must respect privacy policies.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change; ask the operator which permits they hold and verify them.

Providers who do this

Filters by headquarters or published service area.

Unitree Robotics

🇨🇳 CN Serves global

Chinese maker of affordable quadruped and humanoid robots.

  • Purchase
  • 2 sourced prices
  • Public quote page
  • 6 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Boston Dynamics

🇺🇸 US Serves global

US maker of Spot quadruped and Stretch truck-unloading robot.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 9 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Clearpath Robotics

🇨🇦 CA Serves global

Canadian research robot platforms (Husky, Jackal).

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Hello Robot

🇺🇸 US Serves global

US maker of the Stretch mobile manipulator.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

PAL Robotics

🇪🇸 ES Serves global

Spanish humanoid and mobile robot maker.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 4 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Robotis

🇰🇷 KR Serves global

Korean maker of Dynamixel and education robots.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026
Show all 13 providers

Rainbow Robotics

🇰🇷 KR Serves KR, global

Korean humanoid and cobot maker.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 3 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

AgileX Robotics

🇨🇳 CN Serves global

Chinese mobile robot chassis maker.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 1 job
  • Oct 25, 2026

Franka Robotics

🇩🇪 DE Serves global

German maker of the Franka research cobot.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Kinova

🇨🇦 CA Serves global

Canadian assistive and research robotic arm maker.

  • Purchase
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Galbot (银河通用)

🇨🇳 CN Serves China

Beijing maker of general-purpose humanoid / embodied-AI robots.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Leju Robotics (乐聚机器人)

🇨🇳 CN Serves China

Shenzhen maker of humanoid robots for research, education and industry.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 3 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

EngineAI (众擎机器人)

🇨🇳 CN Serves China

Shenzhen humanoid-robot maker (PM01, SE01, T800 full-size humanoids) for research, education and commercial demos.

  • Purchase
  • Public quote page
  • 2 jobs
  • Oct 25, 2026

Questions buyers ask

How much does research robot platforms cost?

Published prices for research robot platforms run $1,850–$15,999 per unit (2 prices from 2 sources, global and United States; newest dated Oct 25, 2026). Every receipt is below.

Who offers research robot platforms near me?

We list 13 providers for research robot platforms. 1 country has at least one provider whose own site says it works there; the most covered are South Korea (1). 10 providers say they work worldwide. Pick your country on this page to see who serves it, local first.

What should I put in a quote request?

Start with research area (manipulation, locomotion, navigation); software stack (ROS 2, simulation); institution type. The full checklist has 7 items, and a request that covers them gets a real price instead of "it depends".

Do I actually need a robot for this?

Not always. If a competent person with a ladder could do it in an afternoon, hire the person (the Ladder Test). Here's the catch for this job: Education discounts are common — ask.

Are there rules or permits?

Generally unregulated; telepresence must respect privacy policies. More on rules (a summary, not legal advice).

Read first

Cite this page

Whirrwork. "Research robot platforms: cost, how it works & providers." Last updated 2026-10-25. https://whirrwork.com/use-cases/research-robot-platforms/. CC BY 4.0.

BibTeX
@misc{whirrwork_research_robot_platforms,
  title = {Research robot platforms: cost, how it works \& providers},
  author = {{Whirrwork}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://whirrwork.com/use-cases/research-robot-platforms/},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-25. CC BY 4.0. Prices link to their original sources.}
}

Quoting a price? Cite its original source too (linked in the table). We're the index, not the origin. Add the date you read this page.

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