Aliengo

Overview

The Unitree Aliengo is Unitree Robotics' mid-range research quadruped, positioned between the lightweight Go series and the industrial B2. It weighs 21.5 kg, carries 13 kg payload, and stands 600 mm at the hip. At $50,000, it targets research groups and industrial developers needing more payload capacity and structural robustness than the A1 or Go2 family. Unitree manufactures it in Hangzhou, China, and the Aliengo sits at a price point that makes it accessible to well-funded university departments and early-stage industrial inspection companies.

The Aliengo's higher structural mass and 13 kg payload capacity enable mounting of complete sensor and compute stacks, including full-size LiDAR units (Velodyne VLP-16 class), NVIDIA Jetson AGX compute, and multiple cameras, without approaching the payload limit.

Key Specifications

• Degrees of freedom: 12
• Payload: 13 kg
• Top speed: 1.5 m/s
• Standing height: 600 mm
• Weight: 21.5 kg
• Battery runtime: approximately 2 hours
• IP rating: IP52
• Software: Unitree SDK (ROS compatible)

The Aliengo runs the same Unitree Legged SDK as the A1, providing the same low-level joint control interface. Its 2-hour runtime is longer than the A1's 1 hour, reflecting the larger battery capacity enabled by the bigger chassis.

Use Cases

The Aliengo is used in research groups developing inspection systems, manipulation add-ons, and multi-modal sensing platforms. Its 13 kg payload allows mounting of heavy sensor suites for simultaneous lidar mapping, thermal imaging, and gas detection. Unitree has sold it to research groups in Europe and North America working on autonomous inspection prototypes for oil and gas and utilities. Its 600 mm standing height makes it more visible and easier to work with in standard-height industrial environments.

Buying Used

Used Aliengo units are uncommon on the UK secondhand market. When available, pricing ranges from £28,000 to £40,000. Inspect hip and knee joints carefully, as the higher body weight places greater stress on the actuators compared to lighter Go-series platforms. Verify battery cycle count and confirm that the Unitree SDK version is compatible with your target ROS environment.

Alternatives to Consider

• Unitree B2: Heavy-duty industrial version with 40 kg payload and IP67 waterproofing for more demanding environments, at $35,000.
• Boston Dynamics Spot: More mature inspection application ecosystem at comparable price, though with lower payload at 14 kg.
• Deep Robotics Jueying X20: Higher payload industrial platform from a competing Chinese manufacturer.