Buying guide

Hugo RAS 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, Hugo RAS has more verified real-world deployments (4 versus 3) than Johnson & Johnson Ottava as of 2026; DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Hugo RAS has more verified real-world deployments (4 vs 3).

Attribute	Hugo RAS View full model page →	Johnson & Johnson Ottava View full model page →
Manufacturer	Medtronic	Johnson & Johnson
Form factor	surgical	surgical
Maturity	commercial	commercial
Autonomy	◐ not independently verified	—
Availability	internal-onlyenterprise	internal-onlyenterprise
Price	Not announced	Not announced
Capability claims	Assists surgery (teleoperated-assisted, claimed)	—
Brain	—	—
Verified deployments	4	3
Privacy practices	—	—
Sources on file	18	4

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Hugo RAS

Johnson & Johnson Ottava

Editorial summaries

Hugo RAS

Medtronic's Hugo RAS is a modular, multi-port teleoperated robotic-assisted-surgery system and the main commercial competitor to Intuitive's da Vinci. It is CE-marked in Europe (urology and gynecology, October 2021) and US FDA-cleared for urology only (December 2025: prostatectomy, nephrectomy, cystectomy); US general-surgery and gynecology indications are planned but not yet cleared.

It is teleoperated with no shipped intraoperative AI. Medtronic does not disclose a Hugo installed-base count, so DEPLOY records honest absence rather than an invented number. It is enterprise B2B equipment; 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 Hugo RAS and Johnson & Johnson Ottava differ?

What is the difference between Hugo RAS and Johnson & Johnson Ottava?

Hugo RAS 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 Hugo RAS or Johnson & Johnson Ottava more autonomous?

On the DEPLOY registry, neither Hugo RAS 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, Hugo RAS or Johnson & Johnson Ottava?

Hugo RAS has more verified deployments (4) 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

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
Medtronic to unveil Touch Surgery Aide compute platform at SRS 2026Hugo RAS · Ben Smith, Deploy Editor · 2026-07-21
Pacemaker manufacturer Medtronic warns patients cybercrooks may have swiped health dataHugo RAS · The Register · 2026-07-02

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All surgical robotsRegistry Every verified record in the category.Hugo RASModel The full model page.Johnson & Johnson OttavaModel The full model page.MedtronicRecord The maker's verified record.Johnson & JohnsonRecord The maker's verified record.Versius vs Hugo RASCompare Another head-to-head.

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