Side-by-side comparison of Astrobee (NASA) and CARL (Robotics Research Lab, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern) — specs, pricing, Robolist Product Score, and verified deployments. Updated daily.
Optimize comparison for buyer
Optimized for Hospitality & F&B buyers. Priority specs lifted to the top and marked with a target.
Year First Available
Verified Deployments
Battery / Shift Runtime
Availability Status
Payload Capacity
Autonomy Level
| Layer 1: Identity & Trust | ||
| Year First Available (values differ) | 2019 | 2017 |
| Verified Deployments | 0 Deployments | 0 Deployments |
| Layer 2: Operational | ||
| Battery / Shift Runtime (priority for Hospitality & F&B buyers) (values differ) | — | 3 hrs |
| Availability Status | ACTIVE | ACTIVE |
| Layer 3: Category Specific | ||
| Payload Capacity (priority for Hospitality & F&B buyers) (values differ) | — | 5 kg |
| Autonomy Level (values differ) | fully autonomous | semi-autonomous |
Insufficient data for full comparison
The following fields had no data for any of the selected robots: Manufacturer Country, Price Range (USD), Reach, Max Speed, IP Rating
Frequently asked
Astrobee is made by NASA. CARL is made by Robotics Research Lab, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern.
Astrobee launched in 2019. CARL launched in 2017.
Astrobee scores 28/100. CARL scores 37/100. The Product Score blends specs, pricing transparency, verified deployments, and independent media coverage — see methodology for the full breakdown.
Both robots are classified as Research on Robolist. Filters and ranking treat them as direct alternatives.
Hardware cost is one input. Research TCO also includes integration, training, downtime, and end-of-life. Our breakdown: The real cost of a research platform.
Spec sheets only show part of the story. Useful vendor questions cover support, lifecycle, integration cost, and references. We have a buyer-focused checklist: The research-robot procurement RFP: questions and red flags.
Going deeper — picking the right robot
The real cost of a research platform
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The research-robot procurement RFP: questions and red flags
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A 90-day playbook to stand up a new platform in a lab
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Build vs buy vs lease: which model fits a first deployment
8 min readChoosing Your First Robot
The hidden specs vendors hope you'll miss
10 min readReading the Spec Sheet
Astrobee vs CARL compares two robots in the research category. All data is sourced from manufacturer spec sheets, verified deployments, and third-party filings; see our methodology for how the Robolist Product Score is calculated.