iCub

Based on published sources · Not tested by us · Sources checked 2026-09-30

Overview

A research humanoid family whose hardware revisions, robot configuration and software distribution must be matched before reproduction. [S001]

iCub is a family of research humanoids, not a single set of parts identified by the icub-main release number. The official hardware table distinguishes changes to hands, tactile sensing, cameras, compute and batteries across versions. For example, its v2.10 entry adds 4K FRAMOS cameras and an Orin NX to a v2.7-based platform; the experimental v3 family is listed separately. These distinctions must be resolved before a lab can reproduce another installation. [S005]

Official website · Source code

Specifications

Detail	Description
Type	Research humanoid family; hardware revision not selected Reported by source [S005] [S006] [S007] [S008] [S010] · Checked 2026-09-30
Intended users	Humanoid research laboratories; Experienced C++ robotics developers Editorial assessment [S001] · Checked 2026-09-30
Assembly	Not known
Calibration	Not known
Operating system	Not known
Computer needed	Developer machine, robot laptop and icub-head have different documented installation roles Reported by source [S005] [S006] [S007] [S008] [S010] · Checked 2026-09-30

Assembly and use

Start from the robot's configuration

The hardware documentation points to separate mechanical CAD libraries, robot mechanics, electronics boards and wiring repositories. It also treats upgrade kits and tendon replacement as their own tasks. The preserved icub-main package is therefore a software starting point, not a complete manufacturing archive. This review has not selected a physical revision or verified its BOM, controller firmware, delivered cost or replacement-part supply. [S001] [S004] [S008]

The inspected documentation is maintained under MESH, with its source snapshot preserved alongside the main software. Use that hardware version table and the robot's actual installed configuration to narrow the next review. [S005] [S008]

Preserve a distribution, not only icub-main

The installation guide distinguishes a developer computer from the special icub-head setup. It recommends released software distributions for users outside the core development team, with robotology-superbuild providing a coordinated source-installation route. The Linux guide explicitly checks out a dated distribution tag before following the superbuild instructions. Capturing one icub-main release does not pin that distribution or establish that it will run on a particular robot. [S006] [S007]

Licensing also needs a closer pass before reuse. The inspected main archive contains a GPL-2.0-or-later declaration in COPYING and a BSD-3-Clause declaration in LICENSE, plus additional license files. We retain that unresolved file-level scope rather than labeling the entire robot BSD or GPL. No software installation, robot calibration or hardware test was carried out. [S003] [S010]

Cost

No current, complete configuration-specific build cost has been established for this profile.

Source files and licenses

Available project sources support research coverage; complete build and commercial qualification remain separate.

Layer	Availability / license
mechanical design	available · License not fully assessed Official hardware index links this separate repository. Contents, matched revision and manufacturing rights remain unreviewed; icub-main archive is not a hardware copy. [S008]
electronics	available · License not fully assessed Official hardware index links this separate repository. Contents, matched revision and manufacturing rights remain unreviewed; icub-main archive is not a hardware copy. [S008]
firmware	not found · License not fully assessed Complete matched robot firmware not established in inspected main software and documentation; separate firmware/configuration review required. [S004] [S008]
software	available · Mixed/unreconciled: COPYING GPL-2.0-or-later; LICENSE BSD-3-Clause Do not apply one root declaration to all files. A component-level license inventory remains necessary. [S003] [S010]
documentation	available · BSD-3-Clause Inspected documentation repository declaration; not a license for the entire robot. [S011]

No particular learned policy or dataset selected by this family-level source review.

References

Links identify the documentation and revisions used in this profile. Access dates record when each source was retrieved.

S001 · robotology / project contributors
Upstream project overview
Accessed 2026-09-30 · README.md
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S002 · robotology / project contributors
Repository revision and release metadata
Accessed 2026-09-30 · 719ae2a66be7175efc9b9bb99dc72ce2fda0449e
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S003 · robotology / project contributors
Repository license
Accessed 2026-09-30 · COPYING
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S004 · robotology / project contributors
Pinned repository artifact inventory
Accessed 2026-09-30 · 719ae2a66be7175efc9b9bb99dc72ce2fda0449e archive file inventory
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S005 · robotology / project contributors
MESH iCub documentation: docs/icub_versions/index.md
Accessed 2026-09-30 · docs/icub_versions/index.md at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S006 · robotology / project contributors
MESH iCub documentation: docs/sw_installation/index.md
Accessed 2026-09-30 · docs/sw_installation/index.md at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S007 · robotology / project contributors
MESH iCub documentation: docs/sw_installation/linux_from_sources_superbuild.md
Accessed 2026-09-30 · docs/sw_installation/linux_from_sources_superbuild.md at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S008 · robotology / project contributors
MESH iCub documentation: docs/icub_hw.md
Accessed 2026-09-30 · docs/icub_hw.md at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S009 · robotology / project contributors
MESH iCub documentation: docs/sw_installation/check_your_installation.md
Accessed 2026-09-30 · docs/sw_installation/check_your_installation.md at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S010 · robotology / project contributors
Additional iCub license declarations
Accessed 2026-09-30 · COPYING, LICENSE, LICENSE.BSD and LICENSE.GPL-2
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.
S011 · robotology / project contributors
Documentation repository license
Accessed 2026-09-30 · LICENSE at 4df9fd755f0d2054ce93144e457a517c442d929f
Source notes
Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

Research and review details

Source research only; no installation, physical build or performance test performed. No affiliate links added.

Profile edited 2026-09-30 · Sources checked 2026-09-30 · Next review target 2026-10-30

Combined hardware and software repository revision: icub-main 71 · Activity recorded 2026-07-24 [S002]

Correction guidance · Discussion is not enabled · Profile format 0.5.0-draft.1

Change history

September 29, 2026 — First research profile published.