Unitree unveils the H2 X Kung Fu Legend Guardian, a humanoid robot shown kicking cars, lifting a vehicle and fending off an intruder
Unitree Introducing: H2-X Kung Fu Legend Guardian馃 Powerful performance to serve and guard you, with a maximum endurance of approximately 8 hours. Please use the robot safely and in a friendly manner.
Context
The video shows how far Chinese humanoid makers are pushing strength and agility, and pitches humanoids for security and rescue roles.
Unitree is a Chinese maker of legged and humanoid robots. The H2 X is a version of its H2 humanoid, and this is a promotional video, so how much of it was autonomous, remotely controlled or scripted is not stated.
Deep dive
On October 21, Unitree introduced the H2 X Kung Fu Legend Guardian, saying it offers powerful performance to serve and guard you, with a maximum endurance of approximately 8 hours. It asked people to use the robot safely and in a friendly manner.
The minute long video shows the robot doing flips, kicking a parked car hard enough to dent it, jumping from a platform labeled 4 meters high and landing on its feet, and lifting the front of a car. In a staged scene, it steps between a woman and an armed man outside a house. A closing card says the footage involves extreme testing, asks users not to make dangerous modifications or use the robot in a hazardous manner, and tells people to keep at least 2 to 3 meters away.
Notebookcheck reported that the 8 hour figure applies to standing, not to continuous walking or demanding work, and that Unitree has not published a full specification sheet, price or release date. For comparison, Unitree lists the standard H2 at $29,900, about 1.8 meters tall and 70 kilograms, with 31 degrees of freedom and a battery life of about 3 hours. Whether those figures apply to the H2 X is unknown.
The video drew more than 1.6 million views within hours. Unitree has previously released martial arts videos of its smaller G1 robot.
What to expect next
Watch for Unitree to publish specifications, pricing and availability for the H2 X, and to say whether the stunts were autonomous or remotely controlled. Its pitch for guarding and rescue roles may draw questions from regulators about safety around people. Also watch whether rivals such as Tesla, Figure and other Chinese makers answer with demonstrations of their own. Reviews from early buyers would also show how it performs outside staged scenes.