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Ubtech's Walker robot now lends a helping hand at home

The bipedal robot has gained a pair of arms since last year.

Ubtech is best known for its toy-sized robots and STEM kits, but in recent years, it's been building bigger machines as well. At CES 2019, the Chinese manufacturer is once again bringing out its Walker bipedal robot, except this time it's gained a pair of arms, and it's able to grab and pass objects to you thanks to its hand-eye coordination. Standing at 4.75 feet tall, Walker is more huggable for adult humans -- and you might as well start hugging one since it does face recognition, so when the robots turn against humans, you'll have a slightly better chance of surviving.

Compared to last year's model, this updated Walker comes with improved self-balancing thanks to its retooled torso, with the trade-off being a weight bump from 82 pounds up to a whopping 170 pounds. To tackle complex terrain and external impact, the machine relies on 36 "high-performance" actuators along with sensors to help stabilize itself while walking smoothly. Like before, Walker relies on Ubtech's very own Simultaneous Localization and Mapping technology (or "U-SLAM" in short) to plan paths while avoiding obstacles.

Also updated for CES 2019 is Ubtech's Cruzr service robot, which unsurprisingly features improved overall performance -- namely navigation, object avoidance, arm movement, audio quality, connectivity (now with 4G radio) and maneuverability. Many of these are thanks to the new, more powerful processor. In addition, the Cruzr also got upgraded with a refined body structure, servo motors and wheels.

While there's no info on price and date for the Walker, we do know that the new Cruzr will be made available globally -- including North America for the first time -- this year. We'll be checking out both robots here at CES, so stay tuned for more.