Aethon TUGvsFranka Robotics Franka Research 3

For large teaching hospitals (200+ beds) routing medications, linens, and lab specimens 24/7 to reduce manual delivery workload, TUG is easier to deploy today — Franka Research 3 is the longer bet on capability.

Aethon TUG
Aethon
TUG
$105K–$105K
Franka Robotics Franka Research 3
Franka Robotics
Franka Research 3
$25K–$35K
TUG
2 wins
vs
Franka Research 3
0 wins

Category breakdown

Deploy & operate

Readiness, uptime, navigation & connectivity

TUG
  • 95
    Deployment readiness
    85
  • 60
    Maintenance confidence
    60
  • Vision-led navigation (estimated)
    Navigation
    Vision-led navigation (estimated)
  • Wi-Fi / cloud fleet management (estimated)
    Connectivity
    Wi-Fi / cloud fleet management (estimated)

Cost & ROI

Price accessibility and ROI clarity

Even
  • 34
    Price accessibility
    72
  • 90
    ROI clarity
    70

Capability

Payload, speed, runtime & labor replacement

TUG
  • 85
    Labor replacement
    60
  • 453.6 kg (1,000 lbs for TUG T3)
    Payload
    3 kg
  • 1 m/s (3.6 km/h)
    Speed
    Up to 2 m/s at TCP; joint velocity A1-A4: 150 deg/s, A5-A7: 301 deg/s
  • 24 hours intermittent charging
    Battery
    Mains-powered (no battery)

Fit & future

Environment fit, footprint & long-term upside

Even
  • 90
    Environment fit
    75
  • 75
    Future potential
    80
  • 1,160 × 570 × 1,220 mm (length × width × height)
    Footprint
    Arm ~18.3 kg; Control 355 × 483 × 89 mm (D × W × H)
TUG · Best for

Large teaching hospitals (200+ beds) routing medications, linens, and lab specimens 24/7 to reduce manual delivery workload

Franka Research 3 · Best for

University robotics labs developing grasping algorithms with force-feedback learning

Final judgment

If immediate deployment is the priority, choose TUG. If the goal is to be ready when Franka Research 3's capabilities mature, track it.

Open interactive comparisonTUGFranka Research 3

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