Rethink Robotics · industrial humanoid
Baxter
A two-armed collaborative factory robot on a pedestal, with two 7-DoF arms, a torso and an LCD-screen face that showed expressive eyes, designed to be taught tasks by moving its arms rather than programming. Founded by iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks, Rethink sold it at a strikingly low $22,000 but shut down in 2018.
- Price
- $22,000Cheaper than 56%
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- 2.3 kgCarries more than 12%
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: factory work. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
One of the first low-cost, safe-around-people two-armed collaborative robots with a face, widely used in university labs.
Real-world use
Sold to factories and many research labs from 2012 until Rethink Robotics closed in October 2018.
Timeline
- First shown
- 2012-09-18
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
Rethink RoboticsCompanyHow it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Baxter carries more than 12% of the 132 other humanoids that publish a payload. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Baxter costs less than 56% of the 85 other humanoids that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, weight, speed, joints, battery.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.
- 1,195 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Baxter (robot))
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Hands
- simple
- Movement
- Stationary
From the maker
Baxter is the only humanoid from Rethink Robotics in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- $22,000$22,000 at launch (2012), including one-year warranty and software subscription
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. Few robots match closely, so these are the nearest matches. How we choose
| Measure | BaxterRethink Robotics |  Robonaut 2 (R2)NASA Johnson Space Center and General MotorsSame job: industrial · Both fixed in place · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2012-09-18 | 2010-02-04 |
| Status | Discontinued | Retired |
| Height | — | 102 cm |
| Weight | — | 149.7 kg |
| Joints | — | 42 |
| Speed | — | — |
| Payload | 2.3 kg | 9 kg |
| Battery | — | — |
| Price | $22,000 | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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