Foundation Phantom
American bipedal humanoid built with proprietary cycloid actuators for heavy industrial work and defense trials, offered through annual leases rather than sales.
Leased, not sold, for industrial and military trials; Foundation reported about 10 robots in tests in late 2025.
Good humanoid robot (72/100). It stands out most for payload (98/100). Highlight: high-torque cycloid actuators. Main trade-off: lease only, no purchase.
Score breakdown
Rated across 6 criteria
Specifications
- Availability
- Pilot deployments
- Degrees of freedom
- 29
- Payload
- 40 kg
- Height
- 180 cm
- Weight
- 80 kg
- Top speed
- 6.1 km/h
- Locomotion
- Bipedal
- Main use
- Industrial
- Made in
- United States
- Year
- 2025
Specs checked September 2026. Sources: foundation.bot, humanoidsdaily.com, interestingengineering.com, forbes.com, pulse2.com. A missing value has not been published by the maker.
Pros
- High-torque cycloid actuators
- Fast 1.7 m/s walking
- Up to 40 kg payload
Cons
- Lease only, no purchase
- Conflicting payload figures
- Runtime not published
Owner reviews
A strong humanoid robot with real strengths
In our independent assessment, the Foundation Phantom earns 72/100 — a good humanoid robot.
Its strongest area is payload (98/100), followed by mobility (dof) (84/100). In practice, high-torque cycloid actuators.
The main caveat is availability, where it scores 70/100. Specifically, lease only, no purchase.
A dependable pick if its strengths line up with your priorities.
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Sign in to write a reviewFrequently asked questions
Can I actually buy a humanoid robot?
Yes, but mostly research and developer models (Unitree, Booster, EngineAI and others) that ship today. Most general-purpose humanoids are still in paid pilots, pre-order or prototype: check the Availability line before you plan around one.
How much does a humanoid robot cost?
Small developer humanoids start at a few thousand euros; full-size research platforms start around 17,000 € and advanced ones reach about 100,000 € or more. Industrial humanoids are usually sold or leased on quote, so no public price is listed.
What can humanoids do today?
Current models walk, balance, carry modest payloads and perform scripted, learned or teleoperated tasks. Fully autonomous household help is still emerging.
What do degrees of freedom (DoF) tell me?
Each DoF is one joint axis the robot can move. More DoF, especially in the hands, means more dexterous manipulation, but also more to calibrate and maintain.
Do they come with an SDK?
Research-focused humanoids ship with an open SDK or ROS support for programming and experiments; commercial units are typically locked to the vendor's software.
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