unitree gears up for mass production of G1 humanoid robot that can dance, jump and twist

Unitree’s g1 humanoid robot is more flexible than living people

Unitree releases the updated version of its G1 humanoid robot slash AI avatar, the one that’s ready for mass production. In the recent video, viewers can see the faceless and mouthless robot show off its flexibility by squatting, dancing, rotating in the air, performing stunts, and landing on its feet without breaking a sweat. It can also walk up and down stairs, and when someone tries to kick it, the G1 humanoid robot just sways but doesn’t tip over.

During testing, a real-life human pushes the robot, hoping it will fall down, but the AI avatar just slightly bends its back and moves backward without missing a step. It also speed-walks as if it were in a hurry, and the Unitree robot seems to detect blockages in its path, given its set of cameras. The video may well be proof of the robotics company’s claim that G1 has flexibility ‘beyond ordinary people.’ The technology team adds that the humanoid robot has an extra large joint movement angle space, amounting to between 23 and 43 movable joint motors.

all images and video stills courtesy of Unitree Robotics

Imitating and learning other people’s behavior using AI

Unitree has upgraded its G1 humanoid robot over the past few months into its mass-production version. The company first introduced its AI avatar back in July 2024, but they seem to have had it in their pockets for a while now, given that the recent production news broke out only a month later. The refreshed version prides itself on a stronger build and refined appearance. It still retains its abilities to imitate and learn from other people’s behavior using its learning AI, which may be one of the core foundations of its technology.

The robotics company has built and stacked up its UnifoLM, or Unitree Robot Unified Large Model, enough to accumulate and create a series of systems that allow the G1 humanoid robot to simulate human hands. In this way, it can hammer nails precisely, prepare meals with pots and pans, crack nuts, pop a bottle or cork open without breaking the glass, and even solder wires and boards into their proper places without human supervision (but backed by its own technology). There are no specific dates yet for the delivery of the G1 humanoid robot, but Unitree says it’s priced at 16,000 USD per unit.

Unitree’s G1 humanoid robot can bend and touch the floor with its head

Humanoid robot with microphone and speaker to talk to others

Because it has more or less 43 movable parts around its body, the G1 humanoid robot has flexible degrees of freedom, with a maximum joint torque of 120 Nm. It can stay up and running for about two hours and comes equipped with 3D LIDAR and in-depth cameras that allow 360-degree vision. Since the robot has a built-in microphone and speaker, it can converse with people too.

The microphone even features noise and echo cancellation, so it can hear other people clearly and vice versa. There are no visible wires outside the Unitree robot because the technology team conceals them inside for a refined exterior look. G1 is also Bluetooth and WiFi-ready, and its 8-core high-performance CPU helps it process commands and learned actions quickly. As of publishing, the Unitree G1 humanoid robot’s price starts at 16,000 USD per model.

the humanoid robot has between 23 and 43 movable joint motors