Rotaku has opened reservations for Domo, a compact humanoid robot development platform aimed at developers, makers, educators and research teams that want to work with real humanoid hardware. The Domo lineup starts at $2,999 and is positioned to make humanoid development more accessible for projects in motion control, teleoperation, manipulation and embodied AI.
Lower-cost hardware for builders
For Rotaku founder Takuzen Lu, Domo reflects a belief that artificial intelligence will increasingly move from software into machines that can act in the physical world. "AI will not stay behind screens forever," Lu said. "If intelligence is going to become useful in the physical world, it needs a body. Domo is our way of giving more builders access to humanoid hardware they can test, learn from and improve." He argues that humanoid robotics should not be limited to large companies with large budgets, but should also reach classrooms, labs and independent developer communities.
The Domo lineup
The range spans several configurations. Domo Basic starts at $2,999 and targets entry-level programming, education and basic humanoid interaction. Domo Developer, priced at $3,998, is built on Rotaku's compact platform — about 90 cm tall and roughly 20 kg — and adds SDK support, URDF files, simulation workflows and whole-body policy training tools for teleoperation and sim-to-real testing. Domo Plus Developer, at $9,899, offers a larger platform standing about 130 cm and weighing around 35 kg, with support for full-body control, locomotion research and manipulation. Optional add-ons include teleoperation kits, AI compute upgrades, LiDAR navigation, dexterous hands and extra battery packs.
A development tool, not a consumer robot
Rotaku is careful to position Domo as a development platform rather than a general-purpose household robot. The company notes that humanoid systems are among the most complex in robotics, depending on tight integration of mechanical design, actuation, embedded systems, motion control, perception and AI training. Each choice — motor selection, structure, battery, software architecture — affects the rest of the system, which is one reason humanoids have stayed expensive and closed. Domo is intended to let smaller teams validate ideas on physical hardware after working in code or simulation.
Strong early interest
Rotaku says its announcement post on X drew more than one million views within four days, reflecting strong demand for affordable humanoid hardware. The launch lands amid a fast-moving year for the sector, from Hyundai's plan to deploy 25,000 Atlas humanoids to China's rollout of a humanoid robot lifecycle management platform. For context on how quickly investment and deployment are scaling, see our overview of the humanoid robot market outlook.
Reservations are open now through Rotaku's website, with availability depending on configuration and batch size and orders handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reporting based on coverage from Robotics & Automation News.