Unitree Robotics, the Chinese firm that first captured global attention with its agile robot dogs and viral videos, has now unveiled a humanoid with new boxing skills.
Having swept the medal count at China’s first World Humanoid Robot Games, Unitree is leaving no stone unturned to advance its humanoid segment.
In its line of next-gen humanoid, the latest is its H2 model.
In a recent demonstration, the company’s 6-foot humanoid demonstrated its high-power actuation by executing aggressive moves such as punches, kicks, and knee strikes.
Interestingly, the robot was powerful enough to break parts of the opponent, a smaller G1 model humanoid developed by Unitree itself.
Boxing skills and mobility
The company is well-known for building robots with extreme mobility and resilience.
Models such as the G1 and H1 have starred in viral clips, showcasing their balance and control algorithms by instantly recovering from kicks and falls.
Earlier, on October 13, the Unitree G1 humanoid demonstrated its balance and control, executing complex actions like backflips and somersaults — often using its hands for support.
Furthermore, the G1 performed a full routine of rapid, precise movements, including spins, punches, rapid kicks, one-legged balances, and low sweeps, solidifying its reputation for extreme agility.
In this new video, released December 3, it showcased the H2 robot’s sheer strength, including a sparring session with the smaller G1 robot, where a single knee strike was powerful enough to lift the G1 clear off the ground.
Advanced in-built algorithm
The H2 is Unitree’s tallest and most advanced humanoid yet, standing nearly 6 feet (180 cm) tall and weighing 154 lbs (70 kg).
Notably, this robot features a stylized, silver human face complete with defined eyes, lips, and a nose, giving it an appearance that closely mimics human expressions.
The robot succeeds the popular H1, known for its speed during the 2024 Spring Festival Gala in China.
Although the H2 robot‘s knockout power grabs headlines, the true innovation is found in the less visible technical details.
The robot’s movement is brought to life by 31 degrees of freedom (DOF) and immense power, including a 360 N·m joint torque. The motion control algorithms are the brain of the robot, enabling precise replication of complex dynamic movements.
Moreover, the H2 introduces a major upgrade: newly designed, dexterous hands. The arms have been upgraded to feature a full 7 degrees of freedom, an advancement from the 4-DOF of previous models.
This human-like articulation shifts the robot’s focus from simple moving and running to complex manipulation tasks. Therefore, the H2 is built to be a worker, capable of the nuanced gripping and handling required in factories, logistics, and eventually, our homes.
Reportedly, another key detail is the glimpse into Unitree’s teleoperation system.
While autonomous control is the ultimate goal, remote control using human operators — or “teleoperation” — is becoming a vital bridge technology.
Unitree has been developing systems that enable a person to wear a control rig or use a device like the Apple Vision Pro to pilot the robot remotely in real time.
The capabilities of robots to match human-like precision have been advancing rapidly. In a recent video, the Figure humanoid robot demonstrated its advanced locomotion capabilities by achieving a human jogging pace.
The footage highlights the robot’s smooth execution of quick starts, directional changes, and sharp braking within the confines of a complex.