For lower than the worth of a totally decked-out MacBook Pro, you should purchase Unitree’s newest humanoid robotic referred to as the R1. You solely need to shell out $5,900 for a robotic that weighs round 55 lbs, stands about 4 ft tall, and is constructed with a Giant Multimodal Mannequin to deal with complicated duties.
If you happen to’re questioning what the R1 will likely be used for, your guess is nearly as good as ours. Unitree stated its robotic is “absolutely customizable” and demoed its capabilities in a video displaying off cartwheels, handstands, boxing, roundhouse kicks and operating downhill, however did not supply examples with any sensible use but. The light-weight robotic has an ultra-wide view and a four-microphone array to assist it acknowledge voices and pictures, however was additionally constructed with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. It isn’t laborious to examine a world the place individuals program the R1 as a robotic butler to deal with each day chores, very similar to what Meta is reportedly engaged on. Nevertheless, you would possibly even be capable to sq. up two R1s to battle one another, as evidenced by Unitree selling a unique fighting tournament that felt like a much less aesthetically polished model of 2011’s Actual Metal.
The newest R1 is a a lot decrease entry level than Unitree’s earlier humanoid robotic, the G1, which begins at $16,000 and was demoed at CES 2025 with considerably disastrous outcomes. Though the R1’s sub-$6,000 price ticket is arguably excessive, it is nonetheless less expensive in comparison with different comparable choices, like Tesla’s Optimus bot that is anticipated to go for a minimum of $20,000.
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