Friendly humanoid Sprout aims to make robots more approachable

Fauna Robotics unveiled Sprout, a 3.5‑foot, soft‑shelled humanoid presented as a developer platform and priced at $50,000.

Fauna Robotics has publicly unveiled Sprout, a 3.5‑foot humanoid designed to be approachable and used as a developer platform. The company developed the robot over two years and demonstrated it in a Manhattan office. Sprout has a soft, padded sage‑green exterior, expressive lights and simple dexterity such as picking up light objects and dancing. Fauna positions the machine for homes, schools and social spaces rather than industrial settings. Key details: - Height and appearance: about 3.5 feet (1 meter) tall with a soft, padded exterior and emotive facial lights. - Price and positioning: offered as a developer platform with a listed price of $50,000. - Capabilities: walks slowly on uneven ground, avoids obstacles and people, can pick up small items and perform simple movements like dances. - Early use and customers: Fauna has hand‑delivered initial units, and the company says early customers include Disney and Boston Dynamics. - Founders and background: co‑founders Rob Cochran and Josh Merel come from technology and AI backgrounds and developed Sprout over two years. - Design intent: the team aimed for a non‑threatening, approachable form rather than a heavy industrial aesthetic. Summary: Sprout reflects an effort to build a smaller, friendlier humanoid focused on social and developer uses rather than factory tasks. Fauna says early units have been delivered and that broader adoption will depend in part on how developers use the platform; the trajectory of wider consumer or institutional uptake is undetermined at this time.