A series of videos is reigniting debate over the future of humanoid robots. <\/p>\n
The videos shared by robot builder and researcher Logan Olson from October show the training exercise that enables a humanoid unit to suddenly drop to all fours and crawl at an unnerving speed and with unnerving flexibility. <\/p>\n
The robot\u2019s limbs contort with unsettling precision, blurring the line between engineered motion and animal instinct. The clips have quickly spread online, sparking equal parts awe, amusement, and unease.<\/p>\n
In the final video shared on X in November, its limbs twist and fold in ways that resemble a creature rather than a machine, prompting both fascination and discomfort. The clip underscores how today\u2019s humanoids are evolving far beyond simply walking and waving.<\/p>\n
Creepy robot crawls<\/p>\n
Olson is pushing the boundaries of what humanoid robots<\/a> can do, and his latest experiment has captured widespread attention online. This spring, Olson got his hands on a Unitree<\/a> G1 unit and has since shared numerous videos showcasing his tinkering. But his most recent footages take the robot to an entirely new level \u2014 and an eerily unsettling one.<\/p>\n A series of videos released shows G1 seamlessly shifting from a standing position to crawling on all fours in just a few seconds. Its limbs bend and twist with uncanny precision, giving it the appearance of a human-robot-spider hybrid. Another clip shows the robot scuttling across the floor, both impressive and disconcerting, prompting reactions ranging from awe to genuine unease.<\/p>\n Olson achieved this feat using an AI-based \u201ccrawl policy,\u201d a control system he developed to allow the G1 to transition smoothly between standing, walking, and crawling. When he added a Halloween-themed disguise, the robot\u2019s lifelike movements became even more striking, reportedly startling neighbors.<\/p>\n The viral clips underscore just how quickly AI and robotics are advancing. Tasks that once seemed impossible \u2014 fluid, coordinated humanoid motion beyond walking and running \u2014 are now achievable, hinting at a future where humanoid robots operate with unprecedented dexterity and realism.<\/p>\n Humanoid motion evolved<\/p>\n Agility Robotics AI research scientist Chris Paxton recently highlighted Logan Olson\u2019s viral video of a crawling humanoid robot to illustrate an important point about robotic motion. <\/p>\n In a post, resharing<\/a> the footage, Paxton emphasized that many humanoid robots are essentially \u201cfaking\u201d humanlike movements. \u201cIt\u2019s a property of how they\u2019re trained, not an inherent property of the hardware,\u201d he wrote, noting that robots are capable of far stranger and faster motions than the graceful walking or running humans expect. He added, \u201cHuman motion is most efficient for humans; robots are not humans.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Futurism, the discussion is especially timely as companies like Tesla, Figure, and China\u2019s Unitree compete to bring humanoid<\/a> robots to the mass market. While significant progress has been made\u2014Paxton even suggested that running is now almost commoditized\u2014experts question whether the human form is the best choice for every task. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Chris Walti, former lead of Tesla\u2019s Optimus project, told Business Insider earlier this year that humanoid robots are not ideal for factory work, which prioritizes speed and repetitive motions. \u201cHumans weren\u2019t designed to do repetitive tasks over and over again,\u201d he said, reports Futurism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Olson\u2019s unsettling video underscores the versatility of humanoid robots: while a crawling robot may not be the most practical or appealing, it demonstrates just how much these machines can do beyond mimicking humans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of videos is reigniting debate over the future of humanoid robots. The videos shared by robot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,71588,96523,185833,3146,300,105,3122,112797,185834],"class_list":["post-332323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boston-dynamics","tag-humanoid","tag-logan-olson","tag-robot","tag-robotics","tag-technology","tag-tesla","tag-unitree","tag-unitree-g1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}