Phoenix vs NAO V6: Specs, Price & ROS Support Compared (2023)
Sanctuary AI vs Aldebaran (Maxvision) — independent, side-by-side analysis.
Quick Verdict
Phoenix leads in more DOF, faster speed. Overall, Phoenix has an edge in 2 out of 2 compared categories.
Phoenix
Sanctuary AI
NAO V6
Aldebaran (Maxvision)
DNA Fingerprint Overlay
Phoenix NAO V6
Specifications
Contact (enterprise)Price$16,990
170 cmHeight58 cm
70 kgWeight5.6 kg
41DOF25
25 kgPayload—
—Runtime1h
0.83 m/sSpeed0.5 m/s
YesStairsNo
NoLiDARNo
Carbon AI system (Microsoft Azure)ComputeIntel Atom (upgraded in V6)
Ecosystem Openness
8
Phoenix
/100
70
NAO V6
Carbon AI fully proprietary. Microsoft Azure backend.
NAOqi + Choregraphe. Massive academic community. Future uncertain post-bankruptcy.
Pros and cons at a glance
Phoenix
Pros
- High rated payload (25 kg) for industrial pick-and-place
- 41 degrees of freedom — full-body articulation
Cons
- Still in development, no commercial availability
- Unit price not publicly disclosed (quote-on-request or enterprise-only)
- Closed software stack — no public SDK or ROS support
NAO V6
Pros
- Shipping to customers (verified commercial availability)
- Affordable at $16,990 — accessible to research labs and SMEs
Cons
- Short runtime (75 min) — frequent recharging or battery swaps
- Cannot navigate stairs — restricts deployment environments
Frequently asked questions
How do Phoenix and NAO V6 compare on price?
Phoenix: Contact (enterprise). NAO V6: $16,990. Only one of the two has a public unit price; the other publishes a range or enterprise-only terms.
Is Phoenix or NAO V6 actually available to buy?
Phoenix is in active development without commercial availability. NAO V6 is shipping to customers. Status reflects the vendor's published commercial position as of the last review and can change between announcement and actual delivery.
Which is better for ROS-based development: Phoenix or NAO V6?
Phoenix has no ROS support; NAO V6 has ROS 1 only. For research and multi-vendor robotics stacks, native ROS 2 is the strongest signal of ecosystem maturity.
Last updated: 2023