Nori Robotics launches $1,688 humanoid robot for developers
Launch HN: Nori Robotics (YC S26) – A low-cost humanoid robot for development
Nori Robotics (YC S26) introduces the NORI A3, a low-cost bimanual humanoid robot priced at $1,688, assembled in San Francisco and shipping Fall 2026. It features 7+1 DOF arms with 1.5kg payload each, 12m lidar, four 720p cameras, speaker/microphone, and 6-8 hour battery. The Nori Lab app enables training and skill sharing via a Skills Marketplace, aiming to make everyday home tasks accessible.
Train your Nori at home, share its skills anywhere.
- elictronic
The biggest problem is they are using RC style servos. This is why all the arm motions are jerky and lack precision.
What this means:
No force feedback on positioning.
Jerky motion due to actuator steps.
Limited precision.
Terrible slow motion control performance. Fast movements will look better.
Inability to solve problems with software.
Basically think of all the joints like those cheap thermal camera screens that are at 320 x 240 resolution. For rough work or finding some sort of oddity your good, but anything precise you need to spend real money. It's a pretty cool toy, but don't go buying this expecting that much.
- jonplackett
Looks cool.
Can you be up front about its real capabilities. Are these videos of it eg tidying up real or just staged / cherry picked?
If you let it loose in a messy room or stirring something in a kitchen, what are the genuine results you would expect in the wild?
We’re all used to seeing things like Atlas back flipping but then can’t do anything in a real environment. Just curious how this fits in and what the success / fail rate is.
- arjie
Where are you guys in SF? Would love to come see it. Mostly interested in seeing the speed of action (what multiple is the video replay at, etc.) and looking at center-of-mass etc. issues. I have a pretty straightforward use-case in a home. The Dreame we have in the living room is pretty good at avoiding most obstacles, but I usually have an LLM-based agent review the image automatically and either send out the vacuum or suggest moving things that would foul it up. Works great. Obviously substituting with a humanoid capable of reaching ground height things and picking up children's toys etc. would be great.
I'd want to bolt it with a mount to the wall when not in use because it needs to be climb-resistant for children during the daytime when I don't need it functional but there is a solid 8 hour 2200->0700 window when no one will be in the living room and speed is not an issue.
I was talking to my wife about this device and actually the wheeled form factor and (probably) no control software for balance is a feature for our use-case because when the Unitree G1 or whatever falls over the result is catastrophic. The balance control software attempts pure insanity and will likely kill a child nearby.
- slug
RPi5 seems a bit underpowered for all the sensors & control and offloading to a computer through wifi seems problematic. A Jetson Orin Nano would seem to be a better choice for a robot. Unfortunately Nvidia recently substantially increased the prices for their jetson devkits due to component shortages (DRAM,storage, etc), and what was $250 now costs $499 :(
- tintor
None of the videos on website say how much are they speed up (or not), and is robot teleoperated or running autonomously.