alt.hn

5/12/2026 at 9:49:26 AM

Unitree GD01: China's $537k rideable transformer robot is now in production

 https://gagadget.com/en/709729-unitree-gd01-chinas-537k-rideable-transformer-robot-is-now-in-production/

by rguiscard

5/12/2026 at 12:07:59 PM

I have said it numerous times in the past 3-4 years. I believe robotics ( not just humanoids ) will be a bigger thing / threat than AI. And currently China is at least 5 years ahead of rest of the world.

by ksec

5/12/2026 at 3:59:43 PM

I think people will be shocked when robots will be better at things that people train their whole lives for. For example, in the near future, a robot will be able to completely disassemble a car and put it back together completely autonomously. The polymathic understanding of vast amounts of information combined with physical dexterity and ability to work 24/7 will enable all sorts of wild things. The robot will even be able to take a huge pile of disorganized parts from a dissassembled car, and still put it back together. No normally talented person could reasonably be expected to pick a random screw off a pile of all the parts of a car and know where it would go in the assembly.

by narrator

5/12/2026 at 10:38:45 PM

Robots can also add different attachments to perform specialised tasks that custom machines often did. They can also have more than two arms.

by teyc

5/12/2026 at 8:23:51 PM

On the one hand, this could unlock an abundance future. On the other hand, will it?

by therealdrag0

5/12/2026 at 3:04:12 PM

I make the same argument.

I think we'll soon see a robot arm that costs $2,000-5,00 and will be trainable/deployable in a single day. THIS is what will crush most labor around the world.

by kilroy123

5/13/2026 at 8:50:59 AM

[dead]

by humanlity

5/12/2026 at 12:22:28 PM

Robotics and AI are not separate things

by AndrewKemendo

5/12/2026 at 12:30:07 PM

Robotics with ai is going to make automating office work seem like the warm up act.

by noosphr

5/12/2026 at 2:22:54 PM

Agreed, the hard part about robots is the controller.

We have been able to build robot bodies for decades, but we still don't really know how to build a robot mind. You need better AI than we currently have for that.

by Legend2440

5/12/2026 at 2:26:57 PM

Yes, they are, robots have been driving modern manufacturing for over 50 years AI is newfangled technology

by vablings

5/12/2026 at 4:09:27 PM

Both push the boundary of innovation on hardware/software. A product that combines the best of both will be killer.

by moralestapia

5/12/2026 at 12:49:24 PM

Worry not, Elon Musk has promised us that Tesla/XAI/SpaceX is is becoming a robotics firm and we will be saved by him. He is obviously to be truste.

by Geeek

5/12/2026 at 2:30:22 PM

To be fair, reusable rockets and electric cars people wanted to drive were not in much supply prior to those companies. Then again, the boring company is probably only at a parity at best with other miners.

I’m still not quite sure why we want humanoid robots and not something more useful or purpose-built.

by GorbachevyChase

5/12/2026 at 11:21:30 AM

Think of this like a car company having a racing program — building stuff like this will pay dividends elsewhere in the company; from product design to production chain. Example - boy, does that gait look uncomfortable to sit through. I can imagine wanting to spend more time on smoothness, careful foot planting, gait variations, etc. after having my R&D guys ride around in it. And with that done, I can imagine better wear cycles and faster, better looking small robots benefiting.

I’ll also note that cockpit has been padded. I’d love to see the crash outtake videos.

by vessenes

5/12/2026 at 11:37:27 AM

> Example - boy, does that gait look uncomfortable to sit through.

Oof yea, now that I think about it, it's not like a horse trot that you can post through, since you're strapped in to the seat.

by dmoy

5/12/2026 at 11:44:37 AM

Yes, ouch. But, also, surely someone is working on getting cantering, galloping, etc implemented? To your point the biggest innovation might be better seating.

by vessenes

5/12/2026 at 1:16:32 PM

and active suspension, now attach wheels.

by erwincoumans

5/12/2026 at 1:09:14 PM

Just a matter of time until they add wheels to its feet, and the legs will act as active suspension. See also https://youtube.com/watch?v=srPz8TRpZ_8 and https://youtube.com/watch?v=iI8UUu9g8iI (at around 1:36 a human rides that Unitree quadruped)

by erwincoumans

5/12/2026 at 2:07:41 PM

They would need to build it say 50% better for the US market than the Chinese market.

The median weight of a 25 year old guy in the USA is about 30% heavier than in China.

by robocat

5/12/2026 at 6:04:24 PM

That means bigger robots for them, then!

by ASalazarMX

5/12/2026 at 11:27:12 AM

highly recommend watching the Benn Jordan video which interestingly enough dropped yesterday, "Robot Dogs Are A Security Nightmare"[0].

potential backdoors, weak security and other concerns.

[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8WuXDXfcI

by 4ggr0

5/12/2026 at 12:01:38 PM

Is there a video where the CEO is riding the robot? Because the video that is embedded in the X post doesn't show that at all. He is taking a seat there but it's clear that there is a puppet sitting in it (with a helmet on) when it's moving.

by denvrede

5/12/2026 at 2:31:21 PM

The cage leaves a lot to be desired - imagine that thing falling on a fire hydrant. The helmet will not help you then. No thanks!

by sobellian

5/12/2026 at 2:39:26 PM

Sure, just saying because gagadet.com mentions in the article:

> Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing piloted the unit himself during the May 12 reveal on Weibo — a pointed way of demonstrating confidence in a 500kg machine.

by denvrede

5/12/2026 at 10:54:08 AM

What would you use it for that other machines are unsuitable for? Carrying stuff? Helping with somewhat heavy construction tasks? The torso seems a bit too in the way of the hands to be useful for anything. I mean, it looks cool but might be kinda useless.

by KronisLV

5/12/2026 at 11:43:59 AM

It's for throwing the alien queen off the spaceship, obviously.

(It looks uncannily like the loader Ripley drives in Aliens)

by pjc50

5/12/2026 at 12:39:35 PM

Or destroying AI controlled attackers swarming from the ceiling

(It's also close to the APUs in Matrix Revolutions).

by philipwhiuk

5/12/2026 at 6:08:38 PM

Also looks like a rudimentary Fallout power armor.

by ASalazarMX

5/12/2026 at 2:28:30 PM

For the boss to walk around the factory and strike fear and laughter deep into the hearts of employees.

by econ

5/12/2026 at 6:09:42 PM

If I were a billionaire, I would construct a 10 foot robot suit that looks exactly like me and survey the peasants in that.

by torginus

5/12/2026 at 6:08:48 PM

I disagree - teleoperated robot arms with human like kinematics makes it possible for human operators to perform relatively delicate but heavy tasks that needed heavy machinery before.

Imagine one of these things working on a powerline or stacking bricks like legos to build a house.

by torginus

5/13/2026 at 2:03:59 AM

Teledildonics was the future that never really materialized at the wider scale. If porn cant make it work then no one (other than military for obvious reasons) will.

by rasz

5/13/2026 at 7:22:41 AM

I never wouldve thought my post about industrial robots would serve as a setup for an elaborate yo mama joke

by torginus

5/12/2026 at 11:16:34 AM

It might fit a niche between a forklift and a crane. Pick up large things and move them, with some of the versatility of the crane and mobility of a forklift. While being too big to fit in most places, and probably having a fraction of the load capacity of either

I think the article nails it:

> Early buyers are likely theme parks, industrial operators, or deep-pocketed enthusiasts

It looks cool, and unless you have a very specific niche that will be its main feature

by wongarsu

5/12/2026 at 1:10:12 PM

There's no way this thing is stable enough or heavy enough to be even remotely useful for that application. They state 500kg including operator. No outriggers, all the weight is up high... that dog don't hunt.

by jcgrillo

5/12/2026 at 2:30:44 PM

Not to mention that there is no way it even has enough onboard power to operate long enough to do useful work.

by ottah

5/12/2026 at 6:09:14 PM

Next iteration: the spider robot!

by ASalazarMX

5/13/2026 at 1:22:50 AM

TBH the 1999 visionary documentary The Wild Wild West is the foundational pedestal upon which I emplace technology writ large.

by jcgrillo

5/12/2026 at 6:07:58 PM

It's a weird and kind of ridiculous vehicle, but it'll improve and find uses with time. I can't think anything outside warehouses and entertaining, though, because I couldn't ride one of these to work.

by ASalazarMX

5/12/2026 at 2:32:36 PM

The only thing I have seen that bipedal and quad robots have over wheels is the ability to traverse more terrain types.

by ottah

5/12/2026 at 7:37:51 PM

Need a few prototype before we can create the penitent engine

by eunos

5/12/2026 at 11:08:12 AM

I could see some applications for it. But they are selling it as a mode of transportation?

by 2ndorderthought

5/12/2026 at 11:09:16 AM

>The torso seems a bit too in the way of the hands to be useful for anything.

The wide torso/cage is what's protecting the human operator should the robot fall over.

Tyeah, the ones from Avatar look cooler, but imagine you fall on your face in it, you'd get turned into mush.

by joe_mamba

5/12/2026 at 1:21:44 PM

>What would you use it for that other machines are unsuitable for?

The thing I love about the tech culture in China is that they never really seem to ask themselves this question. They just do cool things because they seem cool. See their EV market for more of this. A car with a movie projector for headlights? Why not? Wish we had more of that in the US.

by ramesh31

5/12/2026 at 1:45:12 PM

Meta ray bans and evtol drone taxis and waymos... we've got plenty of cool stuff in the US that's cool and question.

by datadrivenangel

5/12/2026 at 11:28:32 AM

It's about as useful as an F1 car if you see it as a development platform.

by close04

5/12/2026 at 3:40:25 PM

What is the use of a Hermes bag? Carrying stuff? Did you know that people buy sneakers for thousands of dollars and don't wear them at all? What is the use of that?

People like to have fun, you already know this; but perhaps what you don't know is that the "fun" segment of the world economy is trillions of dollars big. People like to have fun a lot, having fun on its own is enough of a trigger for many people to acquire stuff.

This thing will sell like hot cakes.

by moralestapia

5/12/2026 at 1:08:15 PM

A forklift would be more useful and you'd have like $600k+ left over

by jcgrillo

5/12/2026 at 11:01:16 AM

boost the valuation of your company.

by tw1984

5/12/2026 at 4:11:11 PM

we spent one zillion dollars over 200 years to make flat surfaces everywhere, often perfectly flat (like inside of stores), so that ball bearing wheels can work well. We've found that tracks work even offroad. Arms, sure, but why legs?

Around a dockyard or a warehouse, a small tank with 6 arms might make more sense!

by simonsarris

5/12/2026 at 12:08:27 PM

I like the almost lego arm attachment, I enjoy the thought that in future, some kid is bolting 4 junk yard arms to a scrap roll cage to build a quadruped menace.

by maxglute

5/12/2026 at 10:57:01 AM

Wow it can even break a mortarless brick wall, impressive!

by toasty228

5/12/2026 at 10:33:42 AM

Dam china making gundams, before GTA 6.

by dragonelite

5/12/2026 at 12:26:45 PM

We've got the whole paradigm shift of using AI before GTA6. There's a fat chance there's not going to be anyone around to play when they're finally done.

by f6v

5/12/2026 at 2:18:17 PM

This robot is 4 times lighter and probably 15-30 times slower than the car I drive (a regular compact suv). But will this be allowed where cars aren't allowed? inside the malls? or general footpaths? I am not thrilled by it but it also feels cool at the same time. If it's something I get to play with in a theme park, I will definitely try it but for public spaces - this should be a absolute no-no.

by dwa3592

5/12/2026 at 11:26:52 AM

I remember years ago there was giant robot duel

looong youtube video, a lot of unnecessary hyping - all to end in 5 second after one robot drove into the other and it just fell

looks like someone made a supercut of all the fights, and it is still too long and has uncomfortable hyping from narrator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTkVrRkziDI

by NooneAtAll3

5/12/2026 at 6:05:46 PM

This confirms my suspicion that being in the cockpit of a scifi mecha is one of the most seasickness inducing experiences imaginable.

by torginus

5/12/2026 at 11:33:08 AM

That we're all looking at a bipedal walking robot you can sit in and ride around and no one here seems remotely impressed by this is a sure sign we're in the future.

by fidotron

5/12/2026 at 11:36:09 AM

We got the first real-life Spiderman villain before GTA VI

by 90d

5/12/2026 at 9:07:40 PM

It looks like China is going to beat Japan to building a Gundam

by aviat

5/12/2026 at 10:56:37 AM

I want to watch Cybertruck vs GD01

by kasperni

5/12/2026 at 11:33:28 AM

Why the Cybertruck? What does it bring to the table other than a futuristic name and a polarizing design? Why not a Ford Raptor or F-150 Lightning?

by close04

5/12/2026 at 11:09:17 AM

Wonder if the security posture is as good as the robot dog Benn Jordan tested.

by tedcrilly

5/12/2026 at 11:06:42 AM

The design is very human

by joe_mamba

5/12/2026 at 2:09:50 PM

Sup homies.

by tmerc

5/12/2026 at 10:56:26 AM

Neat, I wonder just how far these things can be scaled.

by msuniverse2026

5/12/2026 at 12:51:30 PM

those are some massive actuators on those joints

by blueblisters

5/12/2026 at 3:34:17 PM

Omg! Finally! Amazing :D

Can't wait to have one of mine.

by moralestapia

5/12/2026 at 12:44:48 PM

Everything get heavy when machines get this big. I wonder what the optimal height is for a bipedal robot? With humans there are limits to height as the heart has more work to do in order to reach a brain that is higher up than it needs to be, plus things like backs give out.

A lot of these humanoid robots are a tad diminutive, it will be interesting to see if that is the size that is settled on. Clearly there are constraints such as door sizes and what humans will accept, however, it will be a lot less clutter if the typical home has smaller rather than larger humanoid robots.

I have every confidence I will have Optimus by next year, running with neuralink and able to tidy my sock drawer for me. But what size will he/she be?

by Theodores

5/12/2026 at 12:21:56 PM

I’ve bought at least three Unitree products and they are great

I just wish they would to hire people from the US cause I’d love to work there

If anybody knows how to get a job there, I’ve talked with a bunch of people from the company, and they basically say “yeah we’re not hiring ever”

by AndrewKemendo

5/12/2026 at 10:44:44 AM

toy

by tenwz1

5/12/2026 at 11:16:23 AM

It indeed looks like a toy for rich people. Ideal for when you want to break a loosely stacked brick wall.

by tgv

5/12/2026 at 10:59:49 AM

so when it's on all fours you're just on your back looking skyward?

by micromacrofoot

5/12/2026 at 11:39:17 AM

You switch your position, the back becomes a seat and vice versa. Gotta be hard to execute in a limited space, so probably you're not even supposed to do that while being inside.

by vbezhenar

5/12/2026 at 8:16:11 PM

So a Biped walking on it's knuckles is "Transforming" now? The seat doesn't even re-orient. Nothing is transforming.

Nobody else seems to be noting that the hands on this thing are non-functional. They have action figure style holes!

Without really good controls, this thing can't really do anything at all.

What a disappointing "Demo". Compare this thing to existing demo "Exoskeleton" supports that US military and Japanese industry have been working on for decades, or for a more fun side, the stupid "Pilotable robots" that some company put together for a Gundam-like Fighting robot television show.

by mrguyorama

5/12/2026 at 10:51:28 AM

looks ugly.

by tw1984