Pepper vs Unitree R1
Compare Pepper (SoftBank Robotics) and Unitree R1 (Unitree Robotics) side by side: degrees of freedom, weight, payload, battery life, actuators, and status.
| Spec | Pepper | Unitree R1 |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SoftBank Robotics | Unitree Robotics |
| Category | Humanoid | Humanoid |
| Country | Japan | China |
| Degrees of freedom | 17 | 26 |
| Weight (kg) | 28 | 29 |
| Battery life (h) | 12 | 1 |
| Payload | N/A (no arms lifting) | |
| Max speed | 1.0 m/s | |
| Actuators | Brushless DC Servo Motors | Modular joint motors |
| Primary sensor | Stereo cameras + 3D Depth Sensor + 4x Microphones | |
| Function | Social interaction | Research & development |
| Released | 2014 | 2025 |
| Status | Active | Active |
Verdict
Pepper leads on 2 of the 3 weighted dimensions both makers disclose.
Pepper leads on price ($1,500 vs From $4,900 USD (R1 AIR); $5,900 USD (R1); tax and shipping excluded) and battery life (12 h vs 1 h).
Unitree R1 leads on degrees of freedom (26 vs 17).
Left out because at least one manufacturer does not publish a figure: payload and max speed.
Pepper
A social humanoid designed for human interaction in retail, hospitality, and healthcare settings. Pepper detects faces, recognizes emotions, and engages in natural conversation with multi-language speech synthesis.
Unitree R1
Unitree's lightweight consumer-priced humanoid, at about 29 kg and up to 123 cm tall. Three variants: R1 AIR ($4,900), R1 ($5,900) and R1 EDU. Unitree lists about one hour of battery life.