Booster Robotics K1

K1 is ideal for schools, universities, STEM education, and robotics competitions. It offers excellent value for money.

Booster K1 — The Humanoid Robot Redefining Research, Education, and Competition

Product Overview

Booster K1 is a humanoid robotic platform designed for competitions, training, and entertainment. It combines affordability, portability, and robust construction, making it the ideal choice for universities, research centers, robotics teams, and enthusiasts who want to experiment with a real humanoid without prohibitive investments.

Structure and Mobility (22 DoF)

K1 consists of a head, torso, arms, and legs:

• Head (2 DoF): Yaw Joint, Pitch Joint — with integrated depth camera and microphone array
• Each arm (4 DoF each, 8 total): Shoulder Pitch, Shoulder Roll, Shoulder Yaw, Elbow
• Each leg (6 DoF each, 12 total): Hip Pitch, Hip Roll, Hip Yaw, Knee, Ankle Up, Ankle Down
• Torso: houses controller board, speaker, and battery

Key Features

• Omnidirectional walking: forward, backward, sideways, rotations, and complex paths
• Perturbation resistance: walks on uneven surfaces, withstands bumps/pushes during movement
• Default agent (Booster): hand waves, handshake, self-righting from the ground, running function
• Soccer agent: ball tracking, pursuit, vision-guided kicks
• Conversational agent (Hi Chat): bidirectional voice interaction — the robot responds to voice commands with words and physical actions; supports creation of custom personas to assign to the robot
• Educational agent (Teaching): imitation teaching of arms and head, advanced editing of movement sequences
• Dance agent: gestural dance, full-body choreographies, combat movements
• Lion dance agent: dedicated mode for traditional Chinese performances
• Integrated safety: automatic entry into damping mode in case of uncontrolled states, soft emergency stop

⚠️ Safety warnings: full-body dances should be performed on rubber, concrete, or tile surfaces — carpets and high-resistance surfaces carry a risk of falling. Maintain a safe distance from people when performing movements.

Full Motor and Joint Limits

Each joint is calibrated with specific angular limits for safe and natural movements:

Three Controller Configurations

The 5 Operating Modes

• DAMP — Safe mode: power on, joints in a "damped" state (resist movement but do not actively hold or execute it). K1 cannot stand alone and requires support. Can only switch to PREP.
• PREP — K1 assumes and maintains a stable upright posture; joints strongly resist forced displacement and return to position. Can stand alone (without active balancing). Can switch to any other mode.
• WALK — Active mode: omnidirectional walking, rotation, steps, head movement. More resilient than PREP — recovers balance if pushed. Never lift while in WALK mode.
• CUSTOM — Full control delegated to the developer via SDK. Only from PREP or DAMP, and only returns to PREP or DAMP. The use of a winch/support is recommended when developing new movements.
• PROTECT — Automatically activated in case of error (joint limit overrun, fall). Identical behavior to DAMP; from here, a soft restart can be attempted by returning to DAMP.

Power-On Procedure

1. Place K1 on its resting stand.
2. Insert the battery by sliding it into the slot, with the lights facing outwards.
3. Position arms and legs in a natural posture.
4. Press the power button for ~3 seconds (release when the light turns on; more than 6 seconds will turn off the robot) — wait about 1 minute for the confirmation tone.
5. LT + START on the joystick → PREP mode, then place K1 standing on the ground.
6. RT + A → WALK mode, ready to respond to commands.

Note: during power-on, K1 must remain still for proper IMU initialization.

Power-Off Procedure

1. LT + START → PREP, place K1 lying down/resting on the ground.
2. LT + BACK → DAMP, then press power to turn off.
3. Wait 6 seconds before powering on again.

Charging

Compatible with 5Ah and 2Ah batteries. Insert the connector following the indicated orientation. LED indicators: green = full charge, red = charging in progress.

Privacy and Updates

The company exclusively collects functional data for fault detection and statistical analysis, in full compliance with privacy. To check the installed software version: command cat /opt/booster/version.txt from a terminal connected to the robot's board. During software updates, motor control stops and joints lose active force: ensure K1 is in damping mode and well-supported (e.g., on a stand) before proceeding.

• K1 Geek
  Basic version of the K1, complete with essential accessories and a 3-month warranty.
• K1 Geek Upgrade Package
  Upgraded package with a 5Ah battery and a portable case, with a 12-month warranty.
• K1 Edu
  Configuration dedicated to the education sector, with annual technical support and response within 24 working hours.
• K1 Pro
  The most advanced version, with superior AI performance and annual technical support included.