Fanfare Over Unitree’s G1 Shows Growing Interest in Chinese Robotics
By Liu Peilin
(Barcelona, Spain) — A Chinese-made humanoid robot took center stage at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, reflecting growing interest in the robotics technology coming out of China.
The robot bore the logo of the Spanish company Invelon Technologies, but was actually produced by Hangzhou-based startup Unitree Robotics, which rose to prominence in January after about a dozen of its humanoid robots danced a jig on national TV at the Spring Festival Gala, one of the most-watched shows in the country.
The robot on display in Barcelona this week, the G1, was controlled by a human operator and could perform tasks like shaking hands with visitors at the event. Unitree launched the G1 in May.
Invelon primarily provides corporate customers with personalized services using virtual and augmented reality devices developed by global tech firms, Invelon founder and Chief Technology Officer Marc Solé Farré said. Six months ago, Invelon bought several G1s from Unitree for 50,000 euros ($54,232) each. The Spanish company has been exploring their potential applications since.
A Unitree employee told Caixin that the company does not object to customers stamping their logo on its models for demonstrations as it still helps increase awareness of the Chinese brand.
The G1 is one of Unitree’s mainstay products, starting at 99,000 yuan ($13,660) in China and $16,000 overseas. The sticker price for the larger H1 humanoid robot, which appeared at the Spring Festival Gala, is 650,000 yuan in the Chinese market and $60,000 to $90,000 elsewhere.
The H1 was Unitree’s first humanoid robot, which it launched in August 2023. Unitree started off developing quadruped robots, like the robotic dogs it currently sells. During an interview with Caixin in February last year, CEO Wang Xingxing said that he did not think humanoid robots were a promising business when he founded the company in 2016. At the time, he didn’t think that traditional robot control technologies could meet the demand for the degrees of freedom and the stability needed for humanoid robots.
But the boom in large language model technology in late 2022 and the advancements in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) ignited Wang’s enthusiasm for humanoid robots. Wang told Caixin that the significant developments in the AI space prompted him to venture into humanoid robots in 2023. Embodied AI is the integration of AI into things like robots and vehicles, enabling them to interact with and learn from their environments.
Last month, Wang was invited to speak at a symposium with private business leaders chaired by President Xi Jinping, marking a growing interest in humanoid robots that has made it one of the most closely watched technologies in the world.
Unitree’s orders grew several times over in 2024, with total orders for humanoid robots from overseas markets such as Germany and Italy surpassing 1,000 units.
At the Mobile World Congress, there were other exhibitors showcasing humanoid robots, including U.S.-based Agility Robotics Inc. and Abu Dhabi-based carrier Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC. Agility Robotics demonstrated how its robot took voice orders to put objects into different baskets, while the Dubai company displayed a lifelike robot with human-like skin that was developed by U.K.-based Engineered Arts Ltd.
Elliot White, an Engineered Arts engineer, said that Chinese developers have “very cool” technologies that they can produce at a very low cost, which can make humanoid robots accessible to more people.
Contact translator Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
Image: Vitalii Shkurko – stock.adobe.com