In footage posted initially to X-Twitter, a Unitree H1 robot is seen flailing its arms wildly and seemingly attacking two workers. The video, purported to be CCTV footage of a training session, shows the robot, billed by Unitree as a "full-size universal humanoid robot," suspended from a crane by a cable before the violent outburst. One of the workers pulls the crane back, and once suspended in the air, the robot stops moving.
Unitree's promo videos show the company's robots running, doing kung fu, and dancing, but their real-world performance often falls short. Two Unitree robots, along with other bipedal robots, were unofficial entrants in last month's Humanoid Robot Half-marathon in Beijing. Unitree's G1 robot immediately fell down at the start line and had to be helped back up by its human handlers. Unitree blamed the failures on poor training.
A Unitree H1 rushed the crowd and almost head-butted a spectator at a festival earlier this year before being pulled back. Seeing robots attacking humans has serious dystopian vibes. While the attacks almost certainly result from coding or sensor errors, not a robot uprising, there are still valid safety concerns that need to be addressed as robots are unleashed on the public.
Previously:
• The amazing, shitty robots of Simone Giertz
• Here's why we don't have robot butlers yet
• Factory robot convinces 12 other robots to go on strike
