Robotics Special: Unitree stuns the robot market

Welcome back, Superhuman. What does $6,000 get you? A short vacation, a high-end laptop, or now, your very own humanoid robot.

WHAT’S NEXT

The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week

1. Unitree stuns the market with huge price drop: The Chinese robotics company has unveiled its R1 humanoid robot for just $5,900, dramatically undercutting competitors in the race to bring multipurpose humanoids to the masses. While American rivals like Tesla's Optimus ($20K) and Figure's 02 ($50K) talk about affordability in the future, Unitree is shipping now. The timing is strategic as well — the company, last week, filed paperwork for what could be the first humanoid robotics IPO on a Chinese exchange.

2. Waymo hits a major milestone in the US: The company just crossed the 100M fully autonomous miles mark. It now provides over a quarter million rides weekly across four cities, having doubled its mileage in just 6 months while planning to expand to new locations in Miami, D.C., and Tokyo. Waymo has also tripled its Austin service area in a likely attempt to fend off emerging competition from Tesla. This milestone is yet another sign that the robotaxi market is only going to expand in the coming years.

3. UBTech’s new self-charging robot is built for 24/7 shifts: The Chinese robot maker has unveiled Walker S2, the world's first humanoid robot that can swap its own batteries without human help. This latest innovation solves a major bottleneck for industrial automation — robots can now work around the clock in truly non-stop shifts, potentially eliminating one of the last advantages human workers had over robotic ones. Here’s a video of the Walker S2 swapping out its own battery.

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ROBOTS IN ACTION

How robots are transforming the world around us

🎸 Robo Riffs: A humanoid named Adam played the keytar alongside a live band at China's VOYAGEX Music Festival, using specialized actuators to demonstrate fluid, human-like movements while precisely hitting each note. While we've seen robots play instruments before, Adam's natural stage presence is a sign we may soon see more robots in mainstream bands. Catch the performance here.

🍔 Bot Appetit: Tesla's long-awaited diner has finally opened on the Hollywood strip. The establishment features Tesla's humanoid Optimus robots greeting customers and distributing popcorn while diners charge their vehicles at 80 V4 Supercharger stalls. If it’s successful, Elon Musk plans on expanding the concept to major cities worldwide. Watch a viral video of the diner here.

🎨 Robot Da Vinci: The world's first ultra-realistic robot artist, Ai-Da, has unveiled an AI-painted portrait of King Charles III at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. Titled "Algorithm King," the oil painting was created using visual data captured by Ai-Da's cameras, processed through AI algorithms, and transferred to canvas by her robotic arm. You can check out the painting here.

🫀 RoboDoc: Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic have performed the world's first robotic heart valve replacement through a small neck incision, completely avoiding opening the chest. The groundbreaking technique uses robotic arms inserted through tiny incisions along a natural neck crease to remove the diseased valve and implant a new one, potentially slashing recovery times for patients.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Everything else you need to know this week

Here are the biggest developments in the robotics space that you should know about:

• Elon Musk predicted that Tesla would launch over a million Optimus humanoid robots a year “in less than 5 years” in a recent earnings call.

• Tesla is reportedly engaging in early talks with Nevada state officials to bring its robotaxi service to the Silver State.

• Figure has unveiled the F03, a humanoid robot battery that packs enough juice for 5 hours of operation while being completely fireproof.

• MIT engineers have created a handheld tool that lets anyone teach robots new skills without coding expertise.

• Uber is looking to make a comeback in the self-driving space by teaming up with Lucid and Nuro to deploy 20,000 autonomous SUVs on its platform.

• Philly-based Asylon has picked up $26M in funding to expand its robotic security fleet, which includes modifying Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot dogs.

ROBOT OF THE WEEK

A robot that caught our eye this week

Rackets up — the robots have entered the court.

AceMate is the world’s first tennis robot capable of real rally play. Unlike traditional ball machines, AceMate can move across the court, track shots, and return balls in real time. The robot is designed to mimic the behavior of a human opponent and is aimed at players looking to improve without needing a practice partner.

Check it out on Kickstarter.

ROBO REEL

Watch: Humanoid robot flips out on technician in viral clip

It happened again.

Just months after a previous robot malfunction got tech enthusiasts worried, another video showing a Unitree H1 humanoid robot violently thrashing mid-test has blown up on social media. The incident, which shows the robot flailing wildly while suspended from a crane, sent technicians scrambling for safety as it knocked over equipment.

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team