Walker S1 vs Walker Tienkung by UBTECH

Walker S1 and Walker Tienkung are both UBTECH bipeds of the same 172 cm height, and they are close in build too. Walker S1 weighs 76 kg and has 41 degrees of freedom driven by UBTECH's own 250 N·m joints, while Walker Tienkung weighs 73 kg and has up to 42 degrees of freedom, including configurable 7-DoF arms. On paper the frames are near twins. The real differences lie in what each is equipped and tuned to do.

Both walk on two legs. Walker Tienkung moves at up to 7 km/h and is built to handle stairs, slopes and uneven ground, which suits research into locomotion and rough-terrain trials. Walker S1 finds its way with two-stage semantic VSLAM, which builds an object-aware map of a factory floor from its cameras. Tienkung is the one to pick for testing how a humanoid copes with varied terrain; Walker S1 is tuned for repeatable routes between workstations.

Walker S1 is built around cameras and touch: RGB-D cameras in its head and chest, stereo and panoramic fisheye cameras for 360° vision, six-axis force sensors in its wrists and ankles and tactile arrays in its hands. Walker Tienkung adds active ranging, combining RGB and stereo cameras with LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, an IMU and force sensors. Tienkung's LiDAR gives researchers direct distance data for mapping experiments. Walker S1's tactile hands give it the edge for handling parts.

Walker S1 plans tasks with a large language model, uses learning-based whole-body control and coordinates with other units through UBTECH's BrainNet. Walker Tienkung supports both autonomous and semi-autonomous operation, which gives research teams room to test their own control methods. Walker S1 arrives ready to take on factory tasks. Walker Tienkung is closer to an open test bed for teams developing their own AI.

Walker Tienkung runs for more than 3.5 hours, swaps quickly between two batteries and recharges in 2 hours. UBTECH has not published Walker S1's battery capacity or runtime; it charges through a fast-charging port on its back. Tienkung's battery swap means a lab can keep testing with little downtime. For Walker S1, ask UBTECH for runtime on your planned shift.

Walker S1 is a factory robot, trialled at carmakers such as BYD, Geely and Audi-FAW for handling parts, carrying totes and quality inspection. UBTECH aims Walker Tienkung at scientific research, education, proof-of-concept projects, logistics trials and rescue research. The same maker built them for different customers: production managers on one side, research teams on the other. Choose Walker S1 for car-factory handling, inspection and assembly, or Walker Tienkung for research, education and proof-of-concept projects.

UBTECH runs Walker S1 on its ROSA 2.0 framework and designs it to work with factory management systems, AMRs and AGVs. Walker Tienkung supports ROS 2, Python and C++ alongside UBTECH's own software. Tienkung is the easier choice for researchers who want to write and run their own code with standard robotics tools. Walker S1's software is aimed at slotting into an automated production line.

Walker S1 is priced at around $50,000 to $150,000, while Walker Tienkung sits in a narrower $65,000 to $115,000 range. The ranges overlap, so the final price of each depends on configuration. Walker S1's value lies in its 15 kg load rating and factory track record. Walker Tienkung's lies in open software, quick battery swaps and terrain handling for research.

Walker S1 has an emergency stop button on its back, six-axis force sensing in its wrists and ankles and tactile sensing in its hands. Walker Tienkung offers force limiting, collision detection, an emergency stop and a collaborative mode for working near people. Both are designed to share space with humans. Tienkung's collaborative mode and collision detection are useful in labs and classrooms, while Walker S1's force and touch sensing protect people during parts handling.