Mercury X1 vs TALOS

Side-by-side comparison of Mercury X1 (Elephant Robotics) and TALOS (PAL Robotics) — specs, pricing, Robo Score, and verified deployments. Updated daily.

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Optimized for Last-Mile Delivery buyers. Priority specs lifted to the top and marked with a target.

Mercury X157.0

TALOS68.8

Layer 1: Identity & Trust

Manufacturer Country

Mercury X1China
TALOSSpain

Year First Available

Mercury X12023
TALOS2017

Verified Deployments

Mercury X10 Deployments
TALOS0 Deployments

Layer 2: Operational

Price

Mercury X1$15,999 USD
TALOS$900,000 USD

Battery / Shift Runtime

Mercury X18 hrs
TALOS1.5 hrs

Availability Status

Mercury X1ACTIVE
TALOSACTIVE

Physical Form Factor

Height

Mercury X1118 mm
TALOS175 mm

Weight

Mercury X155 kg
TALOS95 kg

Mobility Type

Mercury X1bipedal
TALOSbipedal

Humanoid Subtype

Mercury X1full bipedal
TALOSfull bipedal

Walking Speed

Mercury X11.2 m/s
TALOS3 m/s

Running Capable

Mercury X1—
TALOSstatic walk

Stair Climbing

Mercury X1Yes
TALOSproduction ready

Terrain

Mercury X1flat indoor, uneven outdoor
TALOSrough_indoor, mild_incline

Payload & Dexterity

Payload

Mercury X11 kg
TALOS6 kg

Payload (Peak)

Mercury X1—
TALOS6 kg

Total DOF

Mercury X119
TALOS32

Arm DOF

Mercury X19.5
TALOS7

Hand DOF

Mercury X1—
TALOS1

Arm Reach

Mercury X145 cm
TALOS—

Manipulation Repeatability

Mercury X1±0.05 mm
TALOS—

Bimanual Coordination

Mercury X1No
TALOSfull bimanual

Tool Use

Mercury X1—
TALOSproduction validated

Compute & AI

Onboard Compute

Mercury X167 TOPS
TALOSUbuntu LTS, Real Time OS

Compute Platform

Mercury X1Jetson Orin Nano SUPER 8GB
TALOSIntel Core i7

VLM Capable

Mercury X1No
TALOSnone

Foundation Models

Mercury X1false
TALOS—

Imitation Learning

Mercury X1No
TALOSNo

Teleoperation

Mercury X1—
TALOSjoystick

Programming

Mercury X1CAN Bus/WIFI/Network port/Bluetooth/USB serial port
TALOSROS Control, Ethernet, Research-grade interfaces

Battery & Power

Runtime

Mercury X18 hrs
TALOS1.5 hrs

Battery Capacity

Mercury X1—
TALOS1.1 kWh

Battery Swap

Mercury X1No
TALOSNo

Safety

Force-Limited Arms

Mercury X1—
TALOSYes

Fall Recovery

Mercury X1—
TALOSYes

Human Detection Method

Mercury X1—
TALOSmulti modal

Safe Speed Near Humans

Mercury X1—
TALOSsoftware_defined

Software

SDK Languages

Mercury X1Python, ROS1, ROS2
TALOSC++, Python

ROS Support

Mercury X1No
TALOSros2 vendor

Simulation Platforms

Mercury X1—
TALOSROS

Open API

Mercury X1No
TALOSclosed

Reliability

Deployment Maturity

Mercury X1commercial
TALOSproduction pilot

Commercial

Price (USD)

Mercury X1$15,999 USD
TALOS$900,000 USD

Price Tier

Mercury X140-80K
TALOS150K+

Applications

Mercury X1robotics research and development, human-robot interaction research
TALOSResearch platform

	Mercury X1humanoidElephant Robotics 57.0Robo Score	TALOShumanoidPAL Robotics 68.8Robo Score
Layer 1: Identity & Trust
Manufacturer Country (values differ)	China	Spain
Year First Available (values differ)	2023	2017
Verified Deployments	0 Deployments	0 Deployments
Layer 2: Operational
Price (values differ)	$15,999 USD	$900,000 USD
Battery / Shift Runtime (priority for Last-Mile Delivery buyers) (values differ)	8 hrs	1.5 hrs
Availability Status	ACTIVE	ACTIVE
Layer 3: Category Specific
Physical Form Factor
Height (values differ)	118 mm	175 mm
Weight (values differ)	55 kg	95 kg
Mobility Type	bipedal	bipedal
Humanoid Subtype	full bipedal	full bipedal
Walking Speed (values differ)	1.2 m/s	3 m/s
Running Capable (values differ)	—	static walk
Stair Climbing (values differ)	Yes	production ready
Terrain (values differ)	flat indoor, uneven outdoor	rough_indoor, mild_incline
Payload & Dexterity
Payload (values differ)	1 kg	6 kg
Payload (Peak) (values differ)	—	6 kg
Total DOF (values differ)	19	32
Arm DOF (values differ)	9.5	7
Hand DOF (values differ)	—	1
Arm Reach (values differ)	45 cm	—
Manipulation Repeatability (values differ)	±0.05 mm	—
Bimanual Coordination (values differ)	No	full bimanual
Tool Use (values differ)	—	production validated
Compute & AI
Onboard Compute (values differ)	67 TOPS	Ubuntu LTS, Real Time OS
Compute Platform (values differ)	Jetson Orin Nano SUPER 8GB	Intel Core i7
VLM Capable (values differ)	No	none
Foundation Models (values differ)	false	—
Imitation Learning	No	No
Teleoperation (values differ)	—	joystick
Programming (values differ)	CAN Bus/WIFI/Network port/Bluetooth/USB serial port	ROS Control, Ethernet, Research-grade interfaces
Battery & Power
Runtime (values differ)	8 hrs	1.5 hrs
Battery Capacity (values differ)	—	1.1 kWh
Battery Swap	No	No
Safety
Force-Limited Arms (values differ)	—	Yes
Fall Recovery (values differ)	—	Yes
Human Detection Method (values differ)	—	multi modal
Safe Speed Near Humans (values differ)	—	software_defined
Software
SDK Languages (values differ)	Python, ROS1, ROS2	C++, Python
ROS Support (values differ)	No	ros2 vendor
Simulation Platforms (values differ)	—	ROS
Open API (values differ)	No	closed
Reliability
Deployment Maturity (values differ)	commercial	production pilot
Commercial
Price (USD) (values differ)	$15,999 USD	$900,000 USD
Price Tier (values differ)	40-80K	150K+
Applications (values differ)	robotics research and development, human-robot interaction research	Research platform

Insufficient data for full comparison

The following fields had no data for any of the selected robots: Grip Strength, Charging Time, Charging Method, Avg Power Consumption, Fall Detection Response, Emergency Stops, Air-Gap Capable, MTBF, Task Success Rate, IP Rating, Noise Level, RaaS / Month, Pricing Model, Developer Unit Price, Delivery Lead Time, Warranty, Production Pilots

best in categoryweakest in categoryvalues differ

ROI Comparison

Same operating assumptions across every robot — the only difference is price. Set your numbers once to see which pays back fastest.

Robots (fleet)

Hours / day

Labor $/hr (USD)

Days / year

Annual labor displaced (per robot): $50,000

Metric	Mercury X1	TALOS
Investment	$15,999	$900,000
Payback period	3.8 mo	216.0 mo
Net savings (5 yr)	$234,001	-$650,000
ROI (5 yr)	+1463%	-72%

Estimates labor-cost displacement only — not a full total cost of ownership. Actual ROI depends on integration, maintenance, training, downtime, and task fit. Converted currencies are indicative; USD is the price of record.

Trade-offs at a glance

Frequently asked

Who makes Mercury X1 and TALOS?

Mercury X1 is made by Elephant Robotics, based in CN. TALOS is made by PAL Robotics, based in ES.

When were Mercury X1 and TALOS launched?

Mercury X1 launched in 2023. TALOS launched in 2017.

How much does Mercury X1 cost compared to TALOS?

Mercury X1 is listed at $15,999. TALOS is listed at $900,000.

How do Mercury X1 and TALOS compare on the Robo Score?

Mercury X1 scores 57.0 on the Robo Score. TALOS scores 68.8. The Robo Score is a 0–100 credibility figure blending commercial maturity, verified deployments, company standing, and independent coverage — see methodology for the full breakdown.

What is the payload difference between Mercury X1 and TALOS?

Mercury X1 carries up to 1 kg. TALOS carries up to 6 kg.

Are Mercury X1 and TALOS in the same category?

Both robots are classified as Humanoid on Robolist. Filters and ranking treat them as direct alternatives.

What is the realistic total cost of ownership for Humanoid robots?

Hardware cost is one input. Humanoid TCO also includes integration, training, downtime, and end-of-life. Our breakdown: Humanoid TCO: Hardware, Cloud Subscriptions, and the Cost of Teleop Time.

What should a buyer ask vendors when choosing between Mercury X1 and TALOS?

Spec sheets only show part of the story. Useful vendor questions cover support, lifecycle, integration cost, and references. We have a buyer-focused checklist: Vendor Selection for Humanoids: The 10 Questions You Must Ask.

Going deeper — picking the right robot

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About this comparison

Mercury X1 vs TALOS compares two robots in the humanoid category. All data is sourced from manufacturer spec sheets, verified deployments, and third-party filings; see our methodology for how the Robo Score is calculated.