Buying guide

da Vinci (and Ion) vs Johnson & Johnson Ottava in 2026

Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.

Key differences

On DEPLOY's record, da Vinci (and Ion) is further along: at the production stage versus Johnson & Johnson Ottava at the commercial stage, as of 2026.

da Vinci (and Ion) has more verified real-world deployments (13 vs 3).
da Vinci (and Ion) is at the production stage; Johnson & Johnson Ottava at the commercial stage.

Attribute	da Vinci (and Ion)View full model page →	Johnson & Johnson Ottava View full model page →
Manufacturer	Intuitive Surgical	Johnson & Johnson
Form factor	surgical	surgical
Maturity	production	commercial
Autonomy	◐ not independently verified	—
Availability	internal-onlyenterprise	internal-onlyenterprise
Price	$1,800,000-$2,500,000 (analyst estimate) or $1,500,000-$2,500,000 (actual sale price)	Not announced
Capability claims	Assists surgery (teleoperated-assisted, verified)	—
Brain	—	—
Verified deployments	13	3
Privacy practices	—	—
Sources on file	29	4

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da Vinci (and Ion)

Johnson & Johnson Ottava

Editorial summaries

da Vinci (and Ion)

Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci is the gold-standard surgical robot and the verified-at-scale anchor of the category. Per Intuitive's SEC filings, 11,395 da Vinci systems and 1,041 Ion endoluminal systems are installed. The lineup spans da Vinci multi-port (X/Xi), the single-port SP, and the fifth-generation da Vinci 5 (FDA cleared March 2024, with force feedback), plus the Ion bronchoscopy robot (FDA 2019).

It is teleoperated, a surgeon controls every motion, with shipped analytics AI; autonomous-suturing work exists only as research demos on da Vinci hardware, not as shipped product. It is enterprise B2B equipment sold to hospitals at multi-million-dollar per-system prices; there is no consumer price.

Johnson & Johnson Ottava

J&J MedTech's Ottava is a soft-tissue general-surgery robotic platform with four arms integrated into the operating table, announced in 2020. It is pre-market: J&J submitted a De Novo request to the FDA in January 2026, and Ottava is not authorized to be marketed. DEPLOY classifies it research tier: J&J's corporate scale does not translate into verified surgical-robotics deployment, because the gating event (FDA clearance) has not occurred.

By the framework, Ottava sits at the same research tier as far smaller pre-market entrants. There is no price; it is not sold.

Common questions

How do da Vinci (and Ion) and Johnson & Johnson Ottava differ?

On DEPLOY's record, da Vinci (and Ion) is further along: at the production stage versus Johnson & Johnson Ottava at the commercial stage, as of 2026. da Vinci (and Ion) has more verified real-world deployments (13 vs 3). da Vinci (and Ion) is at the production stage; Johnson & Johnson Ottava at the commercial stage.

What is the difference between da Vinci (and Ion) and Johnson & Johnson Ottava?

da Vinci (and Ion) and Johnson & Johnson Ottava are both surgical robots on the DEPLOY registry. They differ in maker, maturity, price, verified deployments, and how much of their autonomy is independently verified. See the table above for the full head-to-head; each figure is sourced.

Is da Vinci (and Ion) or Johnson & Johnson Ottava more autonomous?

On the DEPLOY registry, neither da Vinci (and Ion) nor Johnson & Johnson Ottava has capabilities independently verified as fully autonomous yet; their recorded capabilities are teleoperated-assisted, demonstrated, or vendor-claimed. See the table for each capability's verification status.

Which has more verified deployments, da Vinci (and Ion) or Johnson & Johnson Ottava?

da Vinci (and Ion) has more verified deployments (13) on the DEPLOY registry than Johnson & Johnson Ottava (3). DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Recent coverage

Surgeons use da Vinci surgical robot to perform common cardiac surgeryda Vinci (and Ion) · The Robot Report · 2026-08-17
This Surgical Robot Could Transform the Operating RoomJohnson & Johnson Ottava · Bloomberg Technology · 2026-08-02
J&J’s robotics R&D head discusses Ottava’s folding arms, soothing sounds and haptics capabilityJohnson & Johnson Ottava · Medical Design & Outsourcing · 2026-07-31
Da Vinci 5 Cleared for Cardiac Proceduresda Vinci (and Ion) · isrg.intuitive.com · 2026-07-26

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All surgical robotsRegistry Every verified record in the category.da Vinci (and Ion)Model The full model page.Johnson & Johnson OttavaModel The full model page.Intuitive SurgicalRecord The maker's verified record.Johnson & JohnsonRecord The maker's verified record.Versius vs da Vinci (and Ion)Compare Another head-to-head.

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