Blue Insect introduces a modular robot platform from RMB 9,800

THE ESSENTIALS

Mantis Standard is advertised from RMB 9,800, rather than at a single all-inclusive price.
Its modular wheeled platform includes replaceable chassis, arm, waist and head components.
Quoted payload and latency are supplier specifications, not independent task benchmarks.

A configurable platform with a low entry price

Blue Insect Embodied, a technology-transfer company associated with Xi'an Jiaotong University, has introduced Mantis Standard, also called Xiaobai, from RMB 9,800. Phoenix's launch report describes standardized chassis, arm, waist and head modules connected through quick-install mechanical and electrical interfaces.

The quoted specifications include 22 degrees of freedom, a seven-kilogram single-arm payload and a 663-millimeter arm span. A lifting waist and omnidirectional base let the platform change its working position without using a bipedal walking system. The starting price should not be assumed to include every possible configuration.

Modularity changes the development task

A modular robot can let a team replace the component relevant to an experiment while retaining the rest of the platform. For example, testing a new gripper and testing a navigation system involve different hardware priorities. Shared interfaces can reduce the amount of mechanical redesign needed between those experiments.

They do not remove the integration work. The control software still needs to understand the attached components and their limits. An arm's quoted payload also does not establish the weight that the complete platform can safely move in every posture or while its base is accelerating.

A development purchase needs more than a specification sheet

Phoenix reports a supplier claim of teleoperation latency below 10 milliseconds and approximately three hours of battery life. Neither figure is accompanied by a detailed independent test in the cited account. Latency during teleoperation also describes responsiveness to a human operator, rather than the robot's ability to complete a task autonomously.

For a laboratory or training program, the next useful details would be the included modules, development access, supported software and service terms. Buyers would also need the conditions behind the battery and payload figures to compare this platform fairly with another robot.