Video•Jan 27, 2026
Sprout the Friendly Robot
Fauna Robotics’ new general-purpose platform Sprout is drawing attention from major partners including Disney and Boston Dynamics as a safe, human-friendly robot designed for research labs. Demonstrated by IEEE Spectrum’s editor, Sprout can be teleoperated via VR paddles, controlled through a mobile app with voice commands, or programmed for autonomous tasks using physics-based simulation for real-world motion planning. The robot is marketed as a versatile companion for work and play, able to perform expressive actions like dancing while lacking sensory capabilities such as taste and smell. Fauna’s pitch centers on shipping robust, researcher-ready hardware rather than one-off demos.
