How about it, Elon Musk? China hosts the world's first duel between Unitree G1 humanoid robots

On 25 May 2025, a landmark event took place in China that could have important implications for the development of robotics: the world's first kickboxing tournament among humanoid robots was held in the city of Hangzhou.

Here's What We Know

Unitree Robotics, a Chinese company that develops and manufactures high-tech androids, held the Iron Fist King tournament.

The robots were remotely controlled by operators via controllers or voice commands, which made the event somewhat reminiscent of the famous film "Real Steel" (Real Steel), although not on such an impressive scale.

The Unitree G1 robots were equipped with 3D LiDAR sensors and a depth camera and performed complex combinations of kicks, including kicks. According to the rules, the robots had to exhibit resistance to impact and be able to rise to their feet within 8 seconds.

Note that their Unitree G1 movements significantly outperformed Tesla's Optimus in terms of coordination and speed, though they obviously have very different missions.

The event was broadcast on Chinese TV and attracted a huge amount of attention from viewers, garnering millions of views.

For those who want to take a closer look at the combat robots' movements, here are two videos from the Unitree Robotics channel:

Source: weibo, @NRNAgents, Unitree Robotics