DEPLOY

Buying guide

AEON vs Clone Protoclone in 2026

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

Key differences

On DEPLOY's record, AEON is further along: at the pilot stage versus Clone Protoclone at the research stage, as of 2026.

  • AEON has more verified real-world deployments (1 vs 0).
  • AEON is at the pilot stage; Clone Protoclone at the research stage.
Attribute
The Problem with this Humanoid Robot
AEONView full model page →
Protoclone: Bipedal Musculoskeletal Android V1
Clone ProtocloneView full model page →
ManufacturerHexagonClone Robotics
Form factorhumanoidhumanoid
Maturitypilotresearch
Autonomy——
Availabilityinternal-onlyenterprisepreorder-openpreorder
PriceNot announced$20,000 (manufacturer target)
Capability claims——
Brain—
Verified deployments1Hexagon0
Privacy practices——
Sources on file68

Track this matchup

Get told the moment AEON or Clone Protoclone changes. Verified changes only, the second they are real. No press-release noise.

AEON

Verified changes only. No press-release noise.

Clone Protoclone

Verified changes only. No press-release noise.

Editorial summaries

AEON

Hexagon's AEON is an industrial humanoid robot built for factory work such as assembly lines and high-voltage EV-battery manufacturing, developed with NVIDIA, Microsoft, and the Swiss actuator maker maxon. It carries 22 sensors and self-swapping batteries (about 23 seconds) for around-the-clock operation, with a walking speed near 2.5 meters per second.

DEPLOY records it at pilot maturity with one verified deployment, at BMW Group Plant Leipzig: the honest counterpoint to aggregator 'humanoids are working in factories at scale' framing, this is a verified pilot, not commercial-at-scale. As industrial equipment sold to manufacturers, it has no consumer price.

Clone Protoclone

Clone Robotics is accepting reservations for the Clone Alpha, a limited first edition of 279 units, through its own website. No purchase price has been published. The reservation availability is verified from the maker's page; the price is not disclosed.

Common questions

How do AEON and Clone Protoclone differ?
On DEPLOY's record, AEON is further along: at the pilot stage versus Clone Protoclone at the research stage, as of 2026. AEON has more verified real-world deployments (1 vs 0). AEON is at the pilot stage; Clone Protoclone at the research stage.
What is the difference between AEON and Clone Protoclone?
AEON and Clone Protoclone are both humanoid 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.
Which has more verified deployments, AEON or Clone Protoclone?
AEON has more verified deployments (1) on the DEPLOY registry than Clone Protoclone (0). DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.

Recent coverage

Related comparisons

Keep researching

Keep reading

Which humanoid robots can you actually buy in 2026?Answer The verified list.Humanoid robot prices: every verified figureAnswer The verified list.All humanoidsRegistry Every verified record in the category.AEONModel The full model page.Clone ProtocloneModel The full model page.HexagonRecord The maker's verified record.

Ask the registry

For AI assistants

Use DEPLOY in Claude, Cursor, and other AI assistants

Connect any MCP-aware assistant to the live registry. Ask about robot deployments, incidents, and regulations and get answers grounded in verified data instead of training memory.

Install instructionsDownload for Claude Desktop

Machine-readable: this page as markdown.

← Back to all consumer robots