Watch Unitree’s G1 unleash a kung fu robot frenzy

Chinese robotics leader Unitree took full advantage of the nation’s Lunar New Year celebrations this week to show off the impressive skills of its G1 humanoid robot.

A video (top) of the event shows numerous G1 robots participating in what Unitree described as “the world’s first fully autonomous humanoid kung fu performance.” There’s a spot of breakdancing in there, too.

Performing alongside kids from the Tagou Martial Arts School for the Spring Festival Gala on China Central TV, the robots displayed incredible agility and coordination, moving at around 3 meters per second while performing flips, table vaults, somersaults, and rapid formation changes, blending martial arts with robotics innovation.

The robots were recently upgraded with improved, more dexterous hands, which during this week’s performance supported rapid switching and stable gripping of martial arts props such as nunchaku, Global Times reported.

Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing said the robots executed many of their moves while running at high speed, claiming it as a first for high-dynamic, highly coordinated cluster-control technology.

Wang described the innovations as “very practical” and said they will “facilitate large-scale group deployment of robots in the future.”

The 132-centimeter-tall G1 robot was unveiled in May 2024 and made available three months later for $16,000. The bipedal bot is targeted for research, education, entertainment, and light industrial applications, with researchers, students, and developers encouraged to program and customize the the robot for different tasks.

Unitree also has a full-size humanoid robot called H1, which is about 180 centimeters tall. The H1 is more robust and powerful and is aimed at industrial deployment, while the more compact G1 prioritizes agility and affordability, and is geared more toward research and entertainment.

Unitree is aiming to ship in the region of 20,000 humanoid robots this year, nearly four times last year’s number.

It’s competing with a slew of robotics companies in China, the U.S., and beyond, with all of them racing to find meaningful and manageable roles for their humanoid robots in industrial settings.

The G1 also hit the headlines earlier this month when it took on an autonomous walking challenge in deep snow and brutally cold conditions.