$85,000Prototype$85,000PrototypeCartwheel Robotics Yogi: 76 cm prototype (~1 m at launch) family-companion humanoid. 50+ DoF, medical-grade silicone skin, custom high-torque actuators, swappable battery. Motion Language Model for emotional response.
Yogi is the flagship of Cartwheel Robotics — a Nevada-based startup founded by Scott LaValley (Boston Dynamics × 7 years; led Disney Imagineering's Project Kiwi Baby-Groot bipedal robot). The robot is deliberately positioned as a "social humanoid for the home" rather than a worker (spectrum.ieee.org).
Design: toddler-like proportions, large head, rounded eyes, medical-grade silicone skin, 50+ DoF, custom high-torque actuators with overload protection, hollow skeletal frame for thermal management, modular swappable battery. The AI-driven Motion Language Model enables emotionally resonant real-time gestures + natural-language conversation. Current prototype 76 cm; production version targeted ~1 m. Cartwheel showed a full-body walking prototype at the Humanoid Summit in December 2025.
