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List of consumer electronics Access to large online e-commerce marketplaces is a key step in the “democratization” of products, allowing anyone to buy them with just one click. It’s happened to cars (in the US, you can buy a Hyundai on Amazon) and now it’s happening Humanoid robots.
Chinese manufacturer Unitree Roboticsamong the most active robotics makers in the field, is preparing to bring its lowest-cost model, the Unitree R1, to international markets with Alibaba Group market. According to reports in South China Morning NewspaperThe offering will initially cover North America, Japan, Singapore and Europe. There’s no set date for the robots to go on sale yet, but the Post says they will appear as soon as this week.
This is not the first time Unitree has used AliExpress as a global storefront. Company G1 modelwhich is the more powerful and expensive predecessor of the R1 Already listed For less than $19,000.
It is as much a symbolic move as it is a commercial move; Selling a human-like robot on the global market makes the product more accessible. This serves as a step towards normalizing the technology, which is still not widely adopted. Selling R1 simply lowers the threshold of access even further, shifting humanoid robots from the zone of promise to the zone of tangible availability.
Low prices, high demand
When it was announced last summer, the starting price for the R1 was 39,900 yuan, or about $5,900. Today, the base version starts at 29,900 yuan, or about $4,370.
This price will fluctuate due to changes in exchange rates and shipping costs which add import taxes and tariffs. However, this number seems surprisingly low considering that some of the R1’s other competitors in the field of humanoid robotics are much more expensive.
Unitree’s flagship H1 robot costs $90,000. Tesla Optimus The robot, which has not yet been released for sale to the public, aims to have a starting price of less than $20,000, but that price will only be achieved when Tesla reaches production of one million units per year. Meanwhile, robots from Figure AI and Apptronik cost about $50,000 per unit. The R1’s objectively low price makes it a hatchback in the sedan world.
The R1 is four feet tall, weighs 50 pounds, and has 26 smart joints. You can talk to him and give him orders; On board is a large-scale multimedia model from Unitree equipped with voice and image recognition technology. Curious programmers can program it using the software developer kit. But the real calling card is the R1’s physical performance. The robot can move, lie down, stand independently, and run on slopes. Unitree calls it “Born for Sport.” Its presentation videos It has been making the rounds for months. Handstands and wheel-kicks aren’t exactly what you’d expect from a robot that costs less than a used car.
Put it to work
Although the Unitree R1’s movements are impressive, it lacks hands with articulated fingers and its motors cannot generate much torque. It is not designed to be a home assistant or to handle complex things. The company presents it as an “intelligent companion” for interaction, research and software development.
Adds EDU model (Go2 EDU, G1 EDU) Nvidia Jetson music module With more computing power for AI tasks. This model also has two degrees of freedom for the head and optional right hand. In the case of this robot, the target market is laboratories and universities. The limitations of the basic R1 put it largely in the same camp. This isn’t a home robot that makes coffee and walks the dog, but it’s a good option for researchers, labs, and anyone who wants to test robotics algorithms on rugged hardware without spending a fortune.
It is true that bringing a relatively capable human being into global markets at this price lowers the barrier to entry for developers, researchers, and enthusiasts. It’s a real leap from a few years ago, even if some people will buy it just to keep it in the living room to curl up when guests arrive.
This story was originally published by Wired Italy Translated from Italian.