Unitree R1 is an inexpensive $5,900 humanoid robot with acrobatics

Chinese company Unitree Robotics has unveiled a humanoid robot called R1 that can do somersaults, stand on its hands, perform roundhouse kicks and run on inclined surfaces. All this for a price of less than $6,000. Against competitors with price tags ranging from $20,000 to $90,000, such a robot looks like a technological provocation, and that's no joke.

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The R1 weighs about 25kg, stands about 121cm tall, has 26 moving joints in its body and has built-in multimodal AI. It can recognise voice, image and speech, as well as execute commands. However, as experts point out, most of the demonstration tricks in the video work according to pre-written scripts. In other words, the robot has not much independence yet, but it is more than enough entertainment.

The price of $5,900 makes the R1 the cheapest humanoid robot on the market. By comparison, Unitree's previous model, the G1, cost around $16,000 and the older H1 cost up to $90,000. And while the Tesla Optimus and Figure 02 robots are still just gaining traction, the R1 is already up for pre-order. The company is positioning it as an affordable platform for developers, labs, and research groups. Especially since it comes with an SDK and open interfaces.

It's important to realise that what we have in front of us is not a home assistant, but rather a robotic gymnast for enthusiasts that shows how far compact motors, balancing and dynamic movements have come. Unitree also emphasises that the final version of the R1 may differ from the one shown in the demo, and that using the device requires care - it's not a toy.

Source: Unitree Robotics