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Booster Robotics Launches K1: A RoboCup-Winning Humanoid for $5,000
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- Humanoids daily
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Booster Robotics, a Beijing-based startup founded in 2023, has officially launched its latest humanoid robot, the Booster K1. The company is positioning the new machine as an "entry-level embodied intelligence development platform," targeting secondary application development in education, research, and exhibitions.
The launch, promoted on social media, has garnered attention for its aggressive price point and the robot's demonstrated agility. Reports, including one from RoboHub, pin the K1's starting price at $4,999 USD. This places it as a highly competitive option in the growing market for research-grade humanoids, though some distributors currently list the price as "upon request".
$4,999 USD+ starting price. Booster Robotics officially launched the K1, an entry-level embodied intelligence development platform designed to support secondary application development. âș 1 m tall, 19 kg weight. âș Lightweight, highly flexible, with strong computing power.
Booster Robotics is gearing up to launch a new humanoid robot, the K1! The price won't be „99,000 RMB (approx. $13,600 USD), nor will it be „39,000 RMB (approx. $5,400 USD). Its final price point is expected to be significantly lower than other robots currently on the market.
Accompanying the launch are promotional videos showcasing the K1's capabilities, which include running, interacting with children, and performing "Michael Jackson dance moves".
A Look at the K1 Platform
The Booster K1 is a compact humanoid, standing approximately 95 centimeters (3.1 feet) tall and weighing 19.5 kilograms (43 pounds). Its key specifications, drawn from technical documentation, paint a picture of a capable research tool:
- Agility: The robot features 22 degrees of freedom (DoF), including 6-DoF legs and 4-DoF arms.
- On-board Computing: It is powered by an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nx 8GB module, providing up to 117 TOPS of AI computing power.
- Sensing: The sensor suite includes an RGBD (depth) camera, a 9-axis IMU, and a microphone array.
- Software: Crucially for its target market, the K1 supports secondary development, is compatible with ROS2, and provides simulation models for environments like Issac Sim.
- Endurance: The battery is rated for approximately 40 minutes of active use.
This open approach aligns with Booster Robotics' stated mission to "unite global developers" and create a comprehensive software and hardware platform for embodied intelligence.
A Championship Pedigree
While the dance moves are crowd-pleasers, the K1's most significant validation comes from the world of competitive robotics. A company tweet celebrating the launch noted that the robot "won RoboCup 2025."
This claim is substantiated by results from the 2025 RoboCup competition in Brazil. The Booster K1 was the platform of choice for the winning team, Boosted HTWK from Germany, in the KidSize (small-sized) Humanoid League. The runner-up team in the same league also utilized the K1.
This win highlights the platform's robustness and agility in a dynamic, competitive setting. The K1's success mirrors that of its larger sibling, the Booster T1, which was the platform used by Tsinghua University's Hephaestus team to win the prestigious Humanoid AdultSize league for the first time.
Market Strategy
The K1 launch is a key step in Booster's early strategy, which is explicitly "oriented towards scientific research and education scenarios". The company, whose core team hails from Tsinghua's Robot Control Lab and RoboCup team, is moving quickly.
Since its founding in June 2023, the company has unveiled its BR002 and T1 robots and secured a multi-million dollar Pre-A financing round in September 2024. By offering the K1 as a relatively low-cost, high-performance, and open platform, Booster Robotics is making a strong bid to become a foundational hardware provider for the next wave of robotics researchers and developers.