Pudu Robotics D5 Quadruped Robot Runs on NVIDIA Orin
Pudu Robotics showed off its D5 quadruped robot at Tokyo’s iREX 2025 expo last December. The nearly one-meter-tall machine handled stairs, wheeled around halls, and dodged obstacles, drawing crowds. Founded by Felix Zhang, a former HKUST student, Pudu has shipped over 100,000 robots to 80+ countries, mostly for food delivery and cleaning. Now they’re pushing into tougher spots with the D5 series, including a legged D5 model and wheel-legged D5-W version for outdoor and industrial work like patrols and inspections. South China Morning Post covered the debut.
Key Features and Specs
The D5 packs NVIDIA Orin and RK3588 processors for 275 TOPS of compute power. That handles real-time SLAM mapping, 3D scans, object spotting, obstacle avoidance, and path planning all at once. Pudu’s press release on Yahoo Finance lists these standout abilities:
- Four 120-degree fisheye cameras and dual 192-line front/rear LiDAR for 360-degree views and dense 3D point clouds.
- Maps and navigates up to 1 million square meters; single charge lasts 14 km.
- Carries 30 kg payloads for over two hours, even on 30-degree slopes or 25 cm stairs; hits 5 m/s on flat ground.
- IP67-rated for dust, rain, snow; runs from -20°C to 55°C, cold-starts at -10°C.
- Follows people with vision and depth sensors; recognizes 10+ hand gestures and voice commands via six-mic array.
- Pudu’s own motors and joints let it do backflips or stand from upside down, as CEO Zhang told ITmedia.
Japanese coverage on Tokyo Days, PRTimes, and logi-biz echoes the all-weather, all-terrain focus for warehouses, factories, airports, and security.
Availability and Price
Pudu plans Japan sales starting April 2026 at 6-7 million yen, roughly $40,000-$47,000 USD. They aim for 1,000 units globally in the first year. No other pricing or dates announced yet. Check Pudu’s site for updates as they roll out accessories like delivery boxes or inspection kits.
