Adam vs Adam-U
PNDbotics Adam, PNDbotics Adam-U compared on the things that decide a purchase: price, capability, what actually ships, and estimated costs to your destination.
Delivered price, head to head
Delivered estimates to United States for 1 of 2 machines. The remaining costs need confirmation.
PNDbotics
Adam
Not orderable
Fleet deals only, no individual orders.
PNDbotics
Adam-U
$64,265
to $65,265 landed
Delivered to United States: the import estimate (machine plus freight, Sales tax (0%), robot duty, and broker), or a seller in your own market where one lists the machine for less. Accessories excluded. Check configuration and request a seller quote on each robot's datasheet.
Some costs are unknown, so no overall lowest-cost machine can be identified.
About 40% on China-origin collected today: the 2.5% MFN base, 25% Section 301 List 1, and the 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor duty effective 24 Jul 2026 with no expiry. It began the same morning the 10% Section 122 surcharge lapsed, so the total rose from about 37.5% rather than falling to 27.5%. Confirm the live rate before ordering. Under review; next checked 2026-10-30.
Compare the details
20 rows, 15 with differences
Scroll within the table to see all details. Model names and row labels stay visible. Unknown specifications remain marked as not published.
| Specification |  PNDbotics Adam |  PNDbotics Adam-U |
|---|---|---|
| Priced configuration | See seller configuration | See seller configuration |
| Listed price | $100,000 | $45,000 |
| Class | Frontier | Frontier |
| Who can buy | Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Status | Business sales only | Preorder |
| Capability rating | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Maturity rating | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Origin | China | China |
| Size class | Full-size | Wheeled base |
| Height | 167 cm / 5 ft 6 in | 177 cm / 5 ft 10 in |
| Footprint (W x D) | 45 x 30 cm | Not published |
| Weight | 62 kg | 74 kg |
| Degrees of freedom | 41 | 31 |
| Battery (listed) | 120 min | Not published |
| Payload (listed) | 5 kg | Not published |
| Hands | Hands sold separately | Dexterous hands included |
| Out of the box | Out of the box it walks and balances (RL-trained, human-like gait, up to ~1.5 m/s), holds and shifts its whole-body posture, and can run pre-programmed or teleoperated demo sequences such as the keytar performance and dance routines PNDbotics shows publicly. Those demos are scripted and human-monitored, not autonomous task completion. Day one, with zero programming, you get a stable, expressive bipedal platform that moves convincingly, not a robot that autonomously does a job. | Out of the box it is a teleoperation and data-collection rig, not an autonomous worker. An operator drives it (via the included Noitom mocap suit and VR headset, or a supported Quest headset) and it records synchronized motion, force-tactile, and vision data for training imitation and reinforcement-learning models. It does not perform tasks on its own until you train a policy on the data it collects. |
| Development access | PNDbotics provides an open-source SDK with ROS2 and DDS message definitions, gRPC interfaces, and simulation model files (URDF/MJCF), plus documented reinforcement-learning and imitation-learning workflows compatible with NVIDIA Isaac Gym. There is no published separate "EDU" SKU or SDK-unlock fee: SDK access comes with the robot. Depth of vendor support beyond the docs is negotiated per deal. | Robotics research skills: ROS2 Humble, NVIDIA Isaac for simulation, and an imitation or reinforcement-learning pipeline to turn collected demonstrations into policies. Teleoperation uses the included Noitom mocap suit and VR headset (Meta Quest 3/3S and PICO 4 Ultra are also supported inputs). This is a platform for a lab that already builds embodied-AI models, not a plug-and-play machine. |
| Best for | Robotics research groups, universities, and industrial R&D teams that want a capable, expressive full-size bipedal platform with an open SDK and strong sim-to-real (Isaac Gym) tooling, and that have the ML/ROS2 engineering depth to build their own behaviors on top of it. | University and R&D teams collecting teleoperation and tactile data to train manipulation policies, who want a stable, height-adjustable platform with hands and a mocap teleop kit included rather than a bipedal robot they have to keep upright. |
| Listing checked | 2026-10: sources for PNDbotics Adam | 2026-10: sources for PNDbotics Adam-U |
Listed prices may cover different configurations and tax terms. Use the delivered estimates above for your destination. Battery and payload figures are manufacturer specifications, not results from a shared test.
Adam
In the box
- Full-size bipedal Adam robot (1.67 m, 60 to 63 kg depending on configuration)
- PND Smart Actuator (PSA) quasi-direct-drive actuators (25 to 43 DOF depending on model tier)
- Onboard compute: Intel NUC (12th-gen i7) motion-control PC; NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX perception module on higher tiers
- Battery pack (approx 1172 Wh) and charger
- Depth camera (Intel RealSense D455 on Standard/SP tiers)
- Open-source SDK access with ROS2/DDS and gRPC interfaces, plus URDF/MJCF model files for simulation
Not included
- Five-fingered dexterous hands on the base/Standard tier (hands are an optional add-on; higher SP/Pro tiers include them)
- Turnkey autonomy: Adam ships with locomotion policies and demo behaviors, not an out-of-the-box worker that completes real tasks unattended
- Task-specific application software for your use case (you or an integrator build it on the SDK)
- Teleoperation/mocap data-collection rig (the companion Adam-U upper-body station is a separate product)
- On-site integration, training, and long-term support unless negotiated into the purchase
- Safety enclosure, tooling, and any environment-specific fixturing
Adam-U
In the box
- Upper-body humanoid: 2-DOF head, 3-DOF braked waist, dual arms (31 DOF total)
- A pair of six-DoF dexterous hands (PNDbotics' wiki documents its own PND hand; Noitom's launch bundle names a tactile hand from Inspire Robotics, so confirm the model on the quote)
- Lifting platform and chassis (48 kg; height adjusts 1.35 to 1.77 m by push button). PNDbotics recommends placing a 40 kg counterweight in the chassis, and Noitom describes the base as fixed
- Noitom PNLink full-body wired inertial motion-capture suit for teleoperation
- A VR headset (HMD) for binocular vision feedback during teleop
- ZED Mini stereo depth camera
- Onboard compute: Intel NUC12 i7 motion PC plus NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB
- 1172 Wh battery pack
- ROS2 Humble software stack
- pnd_teleoperation framework (supports PNLink, Meta Quest 3/3S, and PICO 4 Ultra as inputs)
Not included
- Legs or a bipedal base (this is an upper body on a lift column, by design)
- Any trained autonomy: you get the data-collection and teleoperation rig, not a robot that already performs tasks
- The imitation or reinforcement-learning pipeline needed to turn collected demonstrations into policies (that is your lab's work)
What the evidence tells you
- Highest capability rating
- Adam: 5/5.
- Highest maturity rating
- Adam: 4/5.
- Lowest listed weight
- Adam: 62 kg.
Capability and maturity are editorial ratings based on specifications and sales availability. They do not measure reliability, autonomy, or performance on your task. Each datasheet shows the scoring factors.