Robotics and humanoid robotics & civilian drones discussion

jli88

Junior Member
Registered Member
Wang Xingxing, Unitree's founder, said two months ago that the ChatGPT moment in robotics could come within two years. Till then, robots are mostly idiots, without choreography and teleoperation.

This is somewhat like OpenAI/Anthropic etc. claiming for 2 years plus that AGI is imminent. I will believe it when I see it. Unitree like OpenAI/Anthropic has direct stakes in the prediction, so best to have some doubts.
 

AndrewS

Brigadier
Registered Member
This is somewhat like OpenAI/Anthropic etc. claiming for 2 years plus that AGI is imminent. I will believe it when I see it. Unitree like OpenAI/Anthropic has direct stakes in the prediction, so best to have some doubts.

Microsoft and Nvidia occasionally say in public that they don't expect AGI in the next 2-3 years.

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I can see a breakthrough moment for robots yes, where they become useful enough that demand explodes.

But note that Unitree is not calling this AGI.
 

tamsen_ikard

Captain
Registered Member
Some people (trolls?) say this is a AI generated video.
Unitree has a very wierd way of shooting its videos. The camera is too stable and the angle too low. The lighting is also wierd. It overall gives the impression that the video could be CGI 3d animation. It only feels real when a human shows up on the videos.
 

Wrought

Senior Member
Registered Member
Package delivery is a common use case for robots.

Compared to robotaxis, autonomous delivery vehicles are also easier to strip costs down because there are no passengers. The cost of a robovan is "already 20 to 30% cheaper than a commercial vehicle," said Zhao. "There's no need for a human cabin, air conditioner or audio player." He said the savings are even greater if the salary of the driver is taken into account.

Under President Xi Jinping's call to lead the global race in advanced technology, many local governments are embracing robovans. Beijing gave Neolix the first robovan permit in 2021. The city of Qingdao in eastern Shandong province last year enabled trial operations on 121 roads across eight districts, including some of the most populated areas. This year, Shenzhen announced that autonomous vehicles would be allowed to operate in routes that cross different districts.

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SanWenYu

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Guancha interviewed 姜哲源, the founder of
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(Neotix Robotics). Neotix is a Chinese startup focusing on humanoid robots and AI (large models). Its N2 robot won as the runner-up in the humanoid robots half marathon in Beijing earlier this year. Just two days ago, the company announced that it will be launching a new robot priced below 10000 yuans, a first in the world.

In the interview, 姜哲源 revealed that his company is valued at more than 2 billion yuans after 7 rounds of funding. They are currently making about 200 humanoid robots a month to meet the demand. Their supply chains are "almost" all domestic, including the main controllers from 瑞芯微 (Rockchip). He also provided some interesting insights into the robotics industry as a high level insider.

The interviewer happened to have asked why almost all the humanoid robotics companies, including Neotix, are trying to make bipedal humanoids, instead of, say, wheeled ones which seem to be easier and naturally steadier. 姜哲源 explained why in his opinion bipedal is better than other humanoid forms such as wheeled and quadruped. He said that there is no technical difficulties to make bipedal humanoids as steady as needed. Bipedal humanoids are even becoming cheaper than wheeled ones in cost. He likened quadruped humanoids with arms to 半人马 (centaur). "Like a monster in horror thrillers." said 姜哲源 on thinking of having such a robot in a human residence. He believes that bipedal will be a, if not the, final form of humanoid robots.

A relatively long piece worth the time IMO.

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tphuang

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Guancha interviewed 姜哲源, the founder of
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(Neotix Robotics). Neotix is a Chinese startup focusing on humanoid robots and AI (large models). Its N2 robot won as the runner-up in the humanoid robots half marathon in Beijing earlier this year. Just two days ago, the company announced that it will be launching a new robot priced below 10000 yuans, a first in the world.

In the interview, 姜哲源 revealed that his company is valued at more than 2 billion yuans after 7 rounds of funding. They are currently making about 200 humanoid robots a month to meet the demand. Their supply chains are "almost" all domestic, including the main controllers from 瑞芯微 (Rockchip). He also provided some interesting insights into the robotics industry as a high level insider.

The interviewer happened to have asked why almost all the humanoid robotics companies, including Neotix, are trying to make bipedal humanoids, instead of, say, wheeled ones which seem to be easier and naturally steadier. 姜哲源 explained why in his opinion bipedal is better than other humanoid forms such as wheeled and quadruped. He said that there is no technical difficulties to make bipedal humanoids as steady as needed. Bipedal humanoids are even becoming cheaper than wheeled ones in cost. He likened quadruped humanoids with arms to 半人马 (centaur). "Like a monster in horror thrillers." said 姜哲源 on thinking of having such a robot in a human residence. He believes that bipedal will be a, if not the, final form of humanoid robots.

A relatively long piece worth the time IMO.

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Rockchip is such a huge player in embodied ai. Until you work on a project with ai robotics, it’s hard to appreciate just how much.
 
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broadsword

Brigadier
No need for motion capture

Unlike Unitree's


New Unitree’s patent enables human-to-robot movement transfer
By Global TimesPublished: Oct 22, 2025 10:51 PM




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Journalists and guests watch a robot boxing game at the booth of Unitree at the venue of the World Smart Industry Expo 2025 in southwest China's Chongqing, Sept. 4, 2025. The expo is scheduled for Sept. 5 to 8 in Chongqing to present cutting-edge achievements of the smart industry through professional exhibitions. (Photo: Xinhua)

Journalists and guests watch a robot boxing game at the booth of Unitree at the venue of the World Smart Industry Expo 2025 in southwest China's Chongqing, Sept. 4, 2025. The expo is scheduled for Sept. 5 to 8 in Chongqing to present cutting-edge achievements of the smart industry through professional exhibitions. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled a new patent for a robot joint control method and system based on motion capture equipment - one that maps human movements onto robots to enable seamless human-robot collaboration and interaction, according to Qichacha, an online platform offering company information.

Existing robotic joint control programs lack effective mechanisms for human-robot collaboration and intuitive interaction, resulting in poor flexibility and an inability to naturally convey the operator's intentions, said the abstract of the patent.

By integrating motion capture and data processing modules, the system enables the conversion of human joint rotation data into executable control commands for the robot, it said.

The system enables efficient and accurate mapping of human movements to the robot, enhancing flexibility and responsiveness and allowing natural expression of the operator's intentions for smooth human-robot collaboration and intuitive interaction.

By efficiently capturing and accurately reproducing natural human movements, it provides robots with realistic training data, offering significant practical value and strong potential for engineering applications, the patent noted.

Chinese robotics companies have recently unveiled their latest humanoid robots for both academic research and the consumer market, showcasing the country's rapid progress in this cutting-edge field.

Noetix Robotics on Wednesday pre-released its Bumi humanoid robot currently priced at 9,998 yuan ($1,403.76), the industry's first consumer-grade humanoid robot priced at less than 10,000 yuan, the company told the Global Times. Bumi stands just 94 centimeters tall and weighs about 12 kilograms, and it can operate continuously for one to two hours paired with a battery of more than 3.5Ah.

A day earlier,
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, the 1.8-meter-tall H2, which features 31 degrees of freedom and demonstrates remarkable agility, balance and motion flexibility, capable of mimicking dance and martial arts moves, according to a company video sent to the Global Times.


On September 9, humanoid robot producer UBTECH and the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center launched Tiangong Walker, a full-sized research and education robot now available on JD.com. Prices range from 299,000 to 779,000 yuan to meet the diverse needs of institutions and universities, according to a statement UBTECH sent to the Global Times.

Global Times
 
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