Robotic companies have made important strides in making their humanoid robots move as naturally as possible. We’ve seen robots with human-like gait, robots capable of running marathons, but the general consensus is that humanoid robots are still far from capable of performing complex tasks and difficult movements. Now, one Chinese robotics giant is proving everyone wrong.
Unitree is one of China’s largest humanoid robot manufacturers, with its G1 and H2 models constantly making tech news headlines for various reasons. But few people realized just how advanced these models were until yesterday, when the company shocked the world with a kung-fu exhibition where its robots performed alongside humans.
To say Unitree’s humanoid robots shattered everyone’s expectations would be a serious understatement. If the footage going viral on social media right now is to be believed, the G1 and H2 are incredibly mobile and flexible, more so than most real humans.
We all knew humanoid robots were evolving at a rapid pace, but we certainly didn’t expect to see them demonstrating high-difficulty martial arts stunts such as somersaults, stick dancing, running jumps, sword dancing, or expertly wielding nunchucks anytime soon. And yet, here we are!
Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, told the CLS News Agency that the dozens of robots on stage operated without external positioning assistance, relying entirely on onboard sensors to perceive the environment in real time, autonomously plan paths, dynamically adjust formations, and automatically recover after deviating from their course or being accidentally disturbed.
That all sounds a bit too impressive to be true, but even if all the paths had been traced beforehand and the performance scripted, the fact that the robots were able to pull it off the way they did is downright impressive, as well as a little disturbing.
The Unitree robots’ performance during the CCTV Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Horse was so impressive that the company announced a 150% increase in the number of orders for its G1 and H2 models.
