Chinese robotics giant vows to make robots dependable household assistants

Home>>

By Yang Junfeng (People's Daily) 10:13, February 18, 2025

At China Central Television Station's 2025 Spring Festival Gala, 16 humanoid robots named "Fuxi" from Unitree Robotics performed Yangko folk dance on the stage, dressed in northeastern Chinese style floral cotton-padded jackets and twirling handkerchiefs. They soon went viral on social media.

This innovative performance, titled YangBOT, seamlessly blended traditional folk culture with cutting-edge technology, offering a vivid snapshot of China's rapid advancements in the robotics industry.

A performer interacts with an H1 humanoid robot developed by Unitree at the backstage of 2025 Spring Festival Gala. (Photo from the official website of Unitree)

The performance was a dazzling display of the technological prowess of Chinese robotics company Unitree. Since its establishment in 2016, Unitree has distinguished itself in the robotics industry by adopting an innovative "motor-driven" approach and emphasizing "low cost and high performance." In less than a decade, the company has made remarkable progress towards its goal of introducing robots as dependable household assistants.

The secret behind the mesmerizing performance of "Fuxi," or H1, at the Spring Festival Gala lies in their AI-driven full-body motion control technology. Equipped with 360-degree panoramic depth sensing, the robots can accurately perceive their surroundings. Through advanced AI algorithms, they can also "understand" music and accordingly adjust their movements in real time based on the rhythm.

These breakthroughs are the result of years of dedicated research in AI and motion control. In terms of core technology, Unitree has abandoned traditional hydraulic systems in favor of self-developed high-performance direct-drive motors.

By implementing a specifically designed algorithm, the company has achieved precise force control while reducing costs by over 80 percent.

In dynamic balancing and AI algorithms, the H1 humanoid robot utilizes joint motors in combination with reinforcement learning algorithms and multi-agent collaborative planning, significantly minimizing movement errors.

Moreover, the company has made remarkable progress in domestic production of key components. Over 90 percent of critical parts, including motors, reducers, controllers, encoders, and LiDAR sensors, are domestically manufactured.

Tang Shuyuan, deputy director of the digital business research center at Sanda University, said the robots featured in YangBOT changed the stereotype of humanoid robots being overly mechanical.

Technical explanation of Unitree H1's performance at the 2025 Spring Festival Gala. (Photo from the official website of Unitree)

According to him, behind their lifelike movements were advancements in motion control, multi-robot coordination, and vision perception. These breakthroughs mark that Chinese robotics firms are at the forefront of advancements in the development of humanoid robots, Tang said.

Unitree's product development follows a clear trajectory, evolving from quadruped robots to humanoid models.

In the initial phase, the company pioneered quadruped robots for civilian applications.

In 2017, Unitree introduced its first quadruped robot, Laikago, featuring a modular design for rapid iteration. By 2023, the company launched the industrial-grade B2 robot, capable of carrying up to 120 kilograms and operating for four to six hours on a single charge.

Today, Unitree's quadruped robots are widely used in education, inspection, and rescue missions, with cumulative sales exceeding 10,000 units. The company holds 60 percent global market share in this segment.

In the second phase, it redefined the standards for massively produced humanoid robots.

In August 2023, Unitree unveiled its full-sized humanoid robot, H1, which can sprint at a top speed of 3.3 meters per second, perform backflips, and maintain dynamic balance using reinforcement learning algorithms. The robot has already been deployed in the automotive factories of Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO for material handling.

In May 2024, Unitree introduced the G1 humanoid robot featuring three-finger force control dexterous hands, which is sold at a price of just 99,000 yuan (about $13,544). This model has made humanoid robotics more accessible across various industries.

A volunteer from Jiangsu University explains the functions of a robotic dog to primary school students in Zhenjiang, east China's Jiangsu province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yucheng)

In the third phase, Unitree developed an open-source ecosystem to lower industry barriers.