How Are Humanoid Robots Working Around the World?

TL;DR

Humanoid robots are already performing factory inspections, moving packages, supporting rehabilitation, navigating rugged terrain, and interacting with customers. Chinese models such as Unitree G1, H1, XPeng IRON, Walker S1, STAR1, and Fourier GR-2 demonstrate that the field is shifting from staged prototypes toward specialized machines designed for commercial deployment, shared learning, and mass production.

Transcript

They told us humanoid robots were decades away, but they lied. Some of them are already working in factories, greeting guests in malls, even flying planes. And in this video, we're going country by country, uncovering the most advanced, the most shocking, and the most disturbingly human-like robots ever built. We start in China, where things have g... Read More

Key Insights

• Unitree G1 is presented as a compact consumer-grade humanoid measuring about 1.32 meters and weighing 35 kilograms. Its 23 high-torque joints, twin depth cameras, quick-swap battery, and agile actuators support walking, jumping, carrying crates, dancing, push-ups, and independently developed applications.
• Unitree G1 costs around $9,500 for the developer kit, according to the transcript. Unitree founder Wang Shengxing describes it as the Raspberry Pi of humanoids, reflecting an ambition to encourage experimentation with applications such as ping-pong, store patrols, and guest reception.
• Unitree H1 is a taller, faster humanoid that reportedly reached more than 7.3 miles per hour and completed a standing backflip. Its model predictive controller recalculates steps 500 times per second, helping it recover from deliberate impacts and maintain stable movement.
• XPeng IRON is a factory-focused humanoid that borrows perception technology from XPeng's autonomous driving platform. A solid-state lidar, twin 8-megapixel cameras, an Nvidia Orin processor, and 60 torque-dense joints enable autonomous demonstrations involving soccer, material handling, and human interaction.
• UBTECH Walker S1 is designed for repetitive and physically demanding industrial tasks, including inspection, assembly, screw tightening, parcel handling, and refrigerant-leak detection. It can carry up to 15 kilograms while navigating around carts, conveyor belts, changing factory conditions, and nearby workers.
• Walker S1 uses a shared neural architecture called BrainNet, allowing multiple robots to exchange newly acquired task knowledge. When one unit discovers a faster method for tightening a screw or identifying a fault, the other connected units can acquire that improvement.
• Robot Era STAR1 is optimized for running, climbing, and crossing difficult outdoor terrain rather than delicate manipulation or entertainment. It can reportedly reach 13 kilometers per hour, while high-torque leg actuators and dynamic gait control continuously adjust its movement across sand, rocks, slopes, and other unstable surfaces.
• Fourier GR-2 is designed partly as a rehabilitation assistant for patients recovering from strokes or spinal injuries. Its arms can function like parallel bars, while a mid-torso clutch lets therapists guide it manually through clinical environments during walking practice and lift-assistance therapy.

Questions & Answers

Q: What practical jobs can humanoid robots perform today?

The featured humanoid robots can carry crates, load packages, inspect vehicle components, retrieve tools, tighten screws, handle parcels, detect refrigerant leaks, patrol stores, greet guests, and assist rehabilitation patients. Some models are also being developed for outdoor delivery, security patrols, and emergency response. Their roles differ according to their mobility, perception systems, lifting capacity, and intended operating environment.

Q: How does the Unitree G1 move and navigate?

Unitree G1 uses 23 high-torque joints, custom U Power actuators, and twin depth cameras to move through and perceive its surroundings in real time. Its actuators can spin at up to 360 RPM, supporting walking speeds above 4.5 miles per hour and a jump onto a 16-inch box without a run-up. A 1.5-kWh quick-swap battery supplies its power.

Q: Why is the Unitree G1 described as a consumer-grade humanoid?

Unitree G1 combines a relatively compact body, broad movement abilities, and a developer-kit price of around $9,500. It has already been taught activities beyond its original demonstrations, including playing ping-pong, patrolling stores, and greeting visitors. Unitree founder Wang Shengxing calls it the Raspberry Pi of humanoids, emphasizing experimentation and a potential community of developers creating new uses.

Q: How does the Unitree H1 maintain balance at high speed?

Unitree H1 uses a carbon-fiber frame, knee actuators producing 600 newton-meters, and a model predictive controller that recalculates every step 500 times per second. During demonstrations, engineers struck or shoved the robot with wooden beams, and it recovered quickly. This control system supports stable sprinting, while dual hot-swappable batteries provide about four hours of operation.

Q: How does XPeng IRON use autonomous-driving technology?

XPeng IRON borrows key perception and computing components from the company's electric-vehicle technology. A rooftop solid-state lidar provides wraparound environmental sensing, while two 8-megapixel cameras feed information to an onboard Nvidia Orin processor. Combined with 60 torque-dense joints, this system allowed IRON to dribble a soccer ball, load car floor mats, and fist-bump XPeng's CEO without teleoperation.

Q: What factory tasks can UBTECH Walker S1 perform?

UBTECH Walker S1 can conduct visual inspections, assemble components, tighten screws, handle parcels, and detect refrigerant leaks. It carries up to 15 kilograms while balancing and adapting to changing factory conditions. During 2024, the robot was deployed at factories associated with BYD, Audi FAW, Geely, and Foxconn, particularly for repetitive, hazardous, or time-consuming work.

Q: How does Walker S1 share learning between robots?

Walker S1 uses BrainNet, a shared neural architecture through which multiple robots can learn from one another in real time. If one unit identifies a faster way to tighten a screw or improves its approach to detecting a fault, that knowledge can be transferred to other units. The approach is intended to improve an entire deployed fleet instead of training each robot separately.

Q: How can Fourier GR-2 help rehabilitation patients?

Fourier GR-2 includes a rehabilitation mode that locks its arms into positions resembling parallel bars. Patients recovering from a stroke or spinal injury can lean on those arms while relearning to walk. A clutch in the robot's torso also allows therapists to steer it manually around furniture, ramps, and doorways. Early hospital trials suggested one GR-2 could provide lift assistance comparable to two human aides.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• China's humanoid robotics industry includes compact consumer-oriented machines, high-speed athletic robots, factory workers, outdoor runners, and clinical assistants. The featured systems combine depth cameras, lidar, high-torque joints, swappable batteries, and real-time control to perform increasingly practical tasks in workplaces, hospitals, stores, and challenging outdoor environments.

• Unitree illustrates two distinct product strategies. The compact G1 is positioned as an affordable development platform that users can teach new skills, while the taller H1 emphasizes speed, balance, powerful actuators, and logistics work. Both models demonstrate how adaptable hardware and lower target prices could expand access to capable humanoid robots.

• Other manufacturers are building humanoids around specific industries. XPeng integrates technology from autonomous vehicles into IRON, UBTECH deploys Walker S1 for repetitive and hazardous factory work, Robot Era optimizes STAR1 for rugged mobility, and Fourier Intelligence equips GR-2 to assist patients and therapists during rehabilitation exercises.