Rob Cochran, co-founder of Fauna Robotics, discusses the Sprout developer robot with Automated host Brian Heater, covering its design, customers, software, and path toward broader use.
Cochran says Fauna’s founders saw developer tools as a way to move toward a consumer humanoid over time. They chose to start with a safe, engaging, affordable platform that could reach many users and help grow robotics work beyond the company.
Sprout weighs 45 pounds and stands three and a half feet tall, with a soft exterior, expressive eyebrows, and an LED face. Its size and design make it suitable for shared spaces such as offices, though it is not intended for heavy industrial work.
The platform combines an SDK with mapping, navigation, locomotion, and AI features, so users can focus on areas such as motor control or character design. Customers include Disney Imagineering, Boston Dynamics, and research teams at NYU and UC San Diego.
Fauna waited to announce Sprout until robots were reaching customers and shipping was underway. Cochran says early deployments help the company develop manufacturing, supply chains, reliability, and service while it learns which uses are valuable.
Sprout costs about $50,000, with Fauna aiming to bring the price below $10,000 as production grows. It includes teleoperation, mapping, navigation, and voice interaction; Cochran says home use may eventually include companionship and light tasks, while complex chores remain a longer-term challenge.
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A Boston Dynamics Prototype Operations team member explains how the company builds and improves Atlas, from precision machining through assembly and testing, alongside its engineers.
Boston Dynamics engineers discuss the design, simulation, and dexterity of Atlas’s new hands.
Boston Dynamics’ robotics team discusses Atlas’s path to industrial work at Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics Metaplant Application Center, with a host visiting the facility.
The Atlas Director of Robot Behavior at Boston Dynamics talks with NEXT host John Koetsier about Atlas’s design, robot intelligence, factory integration, and why legs can suit industrial work.
Chris Thorn, Atlas hardware team lead at Boston Dynamics, discusses the new Atlas design with industrial designers Aaron Abroff and James Kucera at Boston Dynamics.
Rob Cochrane, CEO and co-founder of Fauna Robotics, introduces Sprout to NBC News anchor Tom Llamas on Top Story and discusses the robot’s current abilities, safety, and possible future in homes.
