The Chinese showed a flexible, dexterous and stable humanoid robot (8 photos + 2 videos)
Chinese roboticists from Unitree have presented their version of the flexible, dexterous and resilient humanoid robot G1, which costs less than its American counterparts. He knows how to crack nuts, open bottles, use a soldering iron and a hammer. He can also be used as a whipping boy. 
Judging by the way the G1 robot is treated in the demo video, it can hardly be accused of wanting to overthrow humanity!
The man in the video kicks and punches the robot in the chest, but it remains stable by stepping back to regain its balance. Then, demonstrating useful everyday skills, the robot hits its fingers with a mallet (as one of the commentators joked, this is the “debt collector” mode).
Then things get even stranger: the robot begins to show how flexible its joints are. It wriggles like the possessed ones in the movie "The Exorcist" and eventually folds into a compact design - in this form it can be carried from place to place.
Actually, these creepy movements and the result are quite impressive. But some users on social networks, after watching the video, called the robot “absolutely terrifying.”
There is nothing to be afraid of: with a height of only 127 cm (this is about the height of an eight-year-old child), the Unitree G1 humanoid robot can hardly reach the top shelf. And certainly not capable of destroying humanity.
At the beginning of the video, the child-sized robot lies on the floor and then rises on flexible joints. It's this flexibility that Unitree seems to be keen to highlight, as the video also shows the robot packing itself into a parallelepiped like an android acrobat.
The G1 weighs only 35kg, making it portable. This is what a Unitree employee demonstrates by lifting a folded robot.
“We are officially entering the era of robot acrobats,” wrote one commentator on YouTube.
Many were worried about the robot being beaten. What if he harbors a grudge and takes revenge when the time comes?
However, this seemingly unusual test may actually demonstrate important capabilities.
Recently it became known that the British company Shadow Robot Company has developed a super-strong robotic arm to help Google DeepMind in the development of artificial intelligence in robots. Video footage of tests conducted by the Shadow Robot Company shows the robotic arm being hit with hammers and slammed with pistons.
This strength is necessary because AI is often very rough and twitchy when learning to control robots, leading to frequent breakdowns.
Unitree notes that the G1's control is "based on imitation and reinforcement learning," hinting that the more rigid design may be intended to survive AI training.
It doesn't look like Unitree has sacrificed dexterity for durability, however, as the video also shows the G1 using its three-fingered claw to perform a number of tasks.
It is not yet entirely clear what this robot is intended for. Although it has some impressive features, it is too small to replace a human in production
G1 shows off some martial arts moves with a stick, decapitates a cola bottle, cracks a walnut, and even demonstrates his ability to use a soldering iron.
However, some commentators were concerned about how much force this little robot could generate:
“Am I the only one who is bothered by the fact that this robot can crush nuts with his bare hands?” “Anyone else imagine a human skull being crushed by a robot’s fist instead of a walnut?”
This is not the first time one of Unitree's robots has raised alarm bells.
Previously, the company focused primarily on four-legged robots, one of which was recently used as the basis for a flamethrower robot.
With its extreme durability, this latest humanoid robot may be reminiscent of some of the creepy killer robots from the movie "Terminator"
However, the company recently expanded its activities and began developing humanoid robots. This is the second model of a humanoid robot from Unitree. The first was the H1, which set a new speed record for humanoid machines, reaching an impressive 11 km/h.
The new G1 is no snail either, with a top speed of 7.2 km/h.
The cost of the new item is $16,000. It's not cheap, but it's a bargain compared to the H1's $90,000 starting price and compared to the more expensive American humanoid robots from Boston Dynamics.
By comparison, Elon Musk has said he wants Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot to cost around $20,000, although that model has not yet entered production.
