Walker S vs NAO V6: Specs, Price & ROS Support Compared (2023)
UBTECH Robotics vs Aldebaran (Maxvision) — independent, side-by-side analysis.
Quick Verdict
Walker S leads in more DOF, faster speed. Overall, Walker S has an edge in 2 out of 2 compared categories.
Walker S
UBTECH Robotics
NAO V6
Aldebaran (Maxvision)
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Walker S NAO V6
Specifications
ContactPrice$16,990
170 cmHeight58 cm
48 kgWeight5.6 kg
41DOF25
15 kgPayload—
—Runtime1h
1.5 m/sSpeed0.5 m/s
YesStairsNo
NoLiDARNo
N/AComputeIntel Atom (upgraded in V6)
Ecosystem Openness
—
Walker S
/100
70
NAO V6
NAOqi + Choregraphe. Massive academic community. Future uncertain post-bankruptcy.
Pros and cons at a glance
Walker S
Pros
- Shipping to customers (verified commercial availability)
- 41 degrees of freedom — full-body articulation
Cons
- Unit price not publicly disclosed (quote-on-request or enterprise-only)
- Closed software stack — no public SDK or ROS support
NAO V6
Pros
- Shipping to customers (verified commercial availability)
- Affordable at $16,990 — accessible to research labs and SMEs
Cons
- Short runtime (75 min) — frequent recharging or battery swaps
- Cannot navigate stairs — restricts deployment environments
Frequently asked questions
How do Walker S and NAO V6 compare on price?
Walker S: Contact. NAO V6: $16,990. Only one of the two has a public unit price; the other publishes a range or enterprise-only terms.
Are both Walker S and NAO V6 shipping to customers?
Yes. Both are commercially available as of the last review. Delivery timelines and customer geographies vary per vendor — check the manufacturer page for each.
Which is better for ROS-based development: Walker S or NAO V6?
Walker S has no ROS support; NAO V6 has ROS 1 only. For research and multi-vendor robotics stacks, native ROS 2 is the strongest signal of ecosystem maturity.
Last updated: 2023