Stretch: a light, one-armed research robot that helps around the home

Stretch is a mobile manipulator made by Hello Robot in the United States. It launched for research in 2020, and its fourth model is on sale in 2026.

MakerHello Robot (Martinez, California, USA). Founded in 2017 by Charlie Kemp (Georgia Tech professor) and Aaron Edsinger

LaunchJuly 2020, Stretch Research Edition (RE1). $17,950 or $17,900 (sources differ)

FormAn arm that moves up and down and extends forward from a mobile base (Stretch 2 had a 109 cm vertical range and 52 cm reach beyond the base). The first model weighed just over 50 lb. Stretch 4 is 46 kg and 160 cm tall

Later modelsStretch 3 in February 2024 ($24,950, 24.5 kg). Stretch 4 in May 2026 ($29,950)

SettingLabs and homes, including assistive research for people with disabilities

ReachOver a thousand users in 23 countries since 2020 (one secondary source says over 1,000 robots)

NowIn October 2026 the purchase page listed Stretch 4 as “Ready to ship” at $29,950

Ended byNot applicable

Official siteHello Robot ↗

See the robotIEEE Spectrum, Stretch 3 ↗

On sale (Stretch 4)

Timeline

2020.07LaunchResearch Edition
2023.01Research grantAbout $2.5M from NIH
2024.02Stretch 3$24,950
2026.05Stretch 4$29,950
2026.10On saleReady to ship

A 50-pound robot that fits in a car

Hello Robot was founded in 2017 by Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp and Aaron Edsinger, a former Google director of robotics. After three years in stealth, it released its first model, the Stretch Research Edition, in July 2020. It weighed just over 50 pounds, light enough to move in a car. Its software was open source, based on ROS and Python. Sources give the price as $17,950 (Core77) or $17,900 (TechXplore).

Four models and 23 countries

In January 2023 Hello Robot received a Phase II grant of about $2.5 million from the National Institute on Aging, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. An earlier Phase I study with the University of Illinois found that Stretch could meaningfully assist a person with quadriplegia. Stretch 3 came out in February 2024 at $24,950 and 24.5 kg. NYU students took Stretch into tens of homes in New York. In May 2026 Stretch 4, twice as fast as Stretch 3, launched at $29,950. The Robot Report wrote that over a thousand users from 23 countries had piloted Stretch since 2020.

If it isn’t simple, it won’t get used

Henry Evans, who is nonspeaking and quadriplegic, used Stretch to scratch itches he could not reach, feed himself and play poker with friends. He also used it to help with meal delivery and laundry. Speaking about assistive devices, he said: “So if it isn’t dead simple to set up and it doesn’t save them a meaningful amount of time, it very simply won’t get used.” Stretch 3 won the 2025 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award in the Robots for Good category.

Sold for research, and taken into homes

Stretch is a light mobile robot with one arm. Researchers tested it not only in labs but in real homes, and used it in assistive research. Unlike Toyota’s HSR, which was loaned rather than sold, Stretch was sold as a research product from the start and has stayed on sale through successive models.

How much caregiver time does this robot actually save?

What we haven’t confirmed

The launch date and price of Stretch 2
How many units have been sold (sources describe users and robots differently)
Whether earlier models (RE1, Stretch 2, Stretch 3) are still supported