BUYING A HUMANOID

1. Buy, lease, or RaaS?

Some platforms sell outright (Unitree G1 from $13.5K), others are offered as Robotics-as-a-Service subscriptions (Agility Digit at $8,500/mo, Sanctuary Phoenix). RaaS lowers upfront cost and bundles support and updates; outright purchase can be cheaper long-term at scale. Match the model to your capital and risk profile.

2. The specs that actually matter

• Payload — can it lift what your task requires? Ranges from 3 kg (G1) to 100 kg (4NE1).
• Runtime / battery — hours of continuous operation, and whether batteries are swappable.
• Deployment status — available now, in pilot, or coming soon. Revenue-proven platforms (Digit) de-risk adoption.
• AI system — how the robot is taught new tasks, and how quickly.

Compare all of these side by side in our Specs Database.

3. Deployment readiness

Consider safety certification, integration time (AgiBot reports 36-hour line integration), facility requirements, and vendor support. Ask for references and real deployment data, not just demos.

4. Questions to ask any vendor

• What real, paying deployments exist today?
• What's the total cost over 3 years, all-in?
• How are new tasks taught, and by whom?
• What are the safety and uptime guarantees?