Franka Emika Panda

Q: How much does Franka Emika Panda cost?

It sold for ~$11,100 (€9,900, 2016 pre-order). IEEE Spectrum reported a yet-to-be-confirmed ~$11,100 (€9,900) pre-order price, versus $29,000 for Sawyer and $35,000 for a UR5 at the time.

Q: Can Franka Emika Panda be bought today?

It is discontinued, though used or leftover units still turn up. No longer sold new. Used Panda arms are resold by labs and on the secondary market, but support for older firmware is limited.

Q: Who makes Franka Emika Panda?

Franka Emika Panda is made by Franka Emika (Germany). It came out in 2017.

Q: Can Franka Emika Panda be programmed?

Full SDK. libfranka (C++), franka_ros, older libfranka releases for Panda firmware.

Q: Does Franka Emika Panda have AI chat or LLM support?

Possible via SDK. No built-in LLM. Its SDK lets software on a computer control it.

Franka Emika (Germany) Franka Emika Panda (1)

Franka Emika (Germany) Franka Emika Panda (2)

Was ~$11,100 (€9,900, 2016 pre-order)

Discontinued · used/leftover onlyPython from a laptop7-DOFTorque sensingResearch iconReplaced by FR3

Possibly ≤ 1 weekShipping: Used market.

Remote control: libfranka/franka_ros from a real-time Linux PC over Ethernet. The Desk UI runs in any browser.

LEARN MORE (libfranka) ↗

Overview

The arm that brought torque-controlled 7-DOF manipulation to ordinary labs at a fraction of the KUKA iiwa's cost, designed by Sami Haddadin's team and named one of Time's best inventions of 2018. Thousands of papers and datasets were built on it. It was succeeded by the Franka Research 3 around 2022, and the company went through insolvency in 2023 before its acquisition by Agile Robots.

Type: Robot arm · Industrial & legacy
Maker: Franka Emika (Germany)
Released: 2017
Price: Was ~$11,100 (€9,900, 2016 pre-order)
Status: Discontinued · used/leftover only
Best for: Professionals & labs
Programming: Full SDK

Price and shipping

IEEE Spectrum reported a yet-to-be-confirmed ~$11,100 (€9,900) pre-order price, versus $29,000 for Sawyer and $35,000 for a UR5 at the time.

Shipping: Used market. No longer sold new. Used Panda arms are resold by labs and on the secondary market, but support for older firmware is limited.

Specifications

Category	Robot arms · Industrial & legacy
Released	2017
Country	Germany
Availability	Discontinued · used/leftover only
Sales	2,500 sold to research and industrial customers by 2018 (estimate) VentureBeat ↗
Programmability	Full SDK
Built-in autonomy	None / scripted · Moves only when controlled, or plays preset motions
LLM support	Possible via SDK · No built-in LLM. Its SDK lets software on a computer control it.
MuJoCo simulation	Sim-to-real kit · In Menagerie, MuJoCo Playground's Panda picking from camera images and block reorientation transferred to hardware. MuJoCo Playground ↗
NVIDIA Isaac simulation	Sim-to-real kit · Isaac Lab ships Panda, NVIDIA's IndustReal provides Isaac Gym training plus real-robot deployment code. NVlabs industreallib ↗
Gazebo simulation	Official model · Maker's franka_ros includes franka_gazebo. franka_ros ↗
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	No vision sensors
Actuators	Brushless / direct-drive motors
Audio	No audio
Compute type	Proprietary / undisclosed
Remote control	Python from a laptop
DOF	7
Reach	855 mm
Payload	3 kg
Repeatability	<±0.1 mm
Weight	About 18 kg (maker datasheet)
Controller	External Control unit, Desk web UI, FCI 1 kHz interface
Sensors	Torque sensors in all 7 joints (13-bit), 'more than a hundred sensors' per Franka
SDK	libfranka (C++), franka_ros, older libfranka releases for Panda firmware

Common questions

How much does Franka Emika Panda cost?

It sold for ~$11,100 (€9,900, 2016 pre-order). IEEE Spectrum reported a yet-to-be-confirmed ~$11,100 (€9,900) pre-order price, versus $29,000 for Sawyer and $35,000 for a UR5 at the time.

Can Franka Emika Panda be bought today?

It is discontinued, though used or leftover units still turn up. No longer sold new. Used Panda arms are resold by labs and on the secondary market, but support for older firmware is limited.