# UCLA RoMeLa Lab unveils PhoneBot bipedal robot, driven by an old smartphone and costing about $400 in materials

- Source: OFweek Robotics
- Published: 2026-10-14T03:31:00.000Z
- RoboHot: https://robohot.news/en/items/zwv4i97f709w9w5cp93uc3jwv
- Original: https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-10/ART-898890-8110-30707031.html

## Summary

The UCLA RoMeLa lab has published a PhoneBot paper on arXiv: a bipedal robot 483 mm tall, weighing 1.8 kg, with 13 degrees of freedom and about $400 in material costs. A phone mounted on the torso serves as sensor, onboard computer, and interaction interface, handling motion control, image recognition, and voice interaction; speech-to-text and large-model inference still rely on an external laptop, and training uses simulation plus left-right leg mirroring. With a used phone, the total cost is under $500. The team describes it as a lab test device with no arms that does not perform complex tasks such as carrying loads or climbing stairs.