Humanoid robotics is quickly moving towards a new frontier. Meanwhile, private companies are spending billions of dollars to create robots capable of handling difficult jobs. Unitree’s G1 robot, however, is a game changer. Its supernatural grace and agility render it capable of executing both ballet performances and karate chops with finesse. This pint-sized automaton is only $16,000 (£12,500) and 4’3” (130cm) tall. Its low cost means that it can reach a much larger audience.
Elon Musk is again stirring the pot, but this time he’s not breaking ground with his own announcement. Tesla intends to make thousands of humanoid robots this year to assist with general purpose tasks in the company’s factories. So Musk imagines these robots performing all sorts of “useful things. As we usher humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence into industrial applications, this marks a paradigm shift.
According to researcher Thomas Andersson —who’s been tracking 49 companies developing humanoid robots with two arms and two legs— this is changing fast. He predicts the competition between these companies will be brutal. Chinese firms thus enjoy deep pockets of their national and local governments. That support provides them with a massive advantage in the race to build next generation humanoid robotics.
This makes Unitree’s G1 robot very attractive to research institutions and tech companies. As a platform, it’s loaded up with open-source development software and designed for development. Customers need to personally program their G1 to unlock its autonomous capabilities. To take advantage of its full power, this space requires a high level of technical expertise.
In comparison, the KR1 robot, created by Kinisi, offers a new direction. This robot is able to learn how to do tasks just by being shown how to do them by a human 20 or 30 times. Bren Pierce, the founder of Kinisi, has announced that the KR1 will soon be distributed to pilot customers for testing. The KR1 isn’t just purposefully built for dock warehouse factories. It removes legs to improve efficiency for use in spaces that don’t value mobility, such as a college campus.
These very different designs of Unitree’s G1 vs Kinisi’s KR1 show the variety of applications for humanoid robots. While the G1 aims to charm audiences at trade shows—where it has already captivated passers-by—the KR1 emphasizes practical utility within industrial contexts. Bren Pierce asserts that the real “secret sauce” lies in the software that enables these robots to collaborate effectively with human workers.
Pedro Zheng, the export sales manager at Unitree, remotely performs an amazing array of tests with the versatile G1 robot. He demonstrates its incredible speed and maneuverability, dazzling the audience. This pragmatic approach lets prospective buyers see for themselves the benefits of incorporating this kind of technology into their activities.
Competition in the burgeoning humanoid robotics sector is heating up. Experts such as Mr. Andersson fear that Chinese companies will reap the spoils and monopolize that space. He posits that their government backing could significantly enhance their ability to innovate and capture market share in this emerging field.