The first-ever World Humanoid Robot Olympics has wrapped up in Beijing, China, and one particular robot shone in the track events.
Built by Chinese firm Unitree Robotics, the H1 humanoid robot helped the team to pick up four gold medals, three silver, and four bronze at the three-day contest, which saw more 280 teams from 16 countries showcasing around 500 humanoid robots.
The events included not only athletics but also gymnastics, boxing, music performances, and more. The performances revealed the many advancements made by such robots in recent years, as developers work to apply these capabilities to real-world scenarios in the home and workplace.
While videos shared online over the weekend showed plenty of robots tumbling over (and getting up again), Unitree’s H1 robot performed impressively in track events that included the 1,500 meters, 400 meters, 100 meters obstacle, and 4×100 meters relay.
The robot’s first gold came in the 1,500 meters, which it completed with ease in just over 6 minutes and 34 seconds (the world record is 3 minutes and 26 seconds). Footage (top) posted on YouTube by Unitree shows the H1 running at a steady pace as it stormed to victory. Hitting a top speed of 4.78 meters a second, the humanoid robot’s running style closely resembled that of a top athlete, with its arms and legs moving in perfect sync to maintain balance, speed, and momentum.
Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing described H1’s success at the Games as “meaningful,” as the robot was the first among several humanoid robots made by the company since it was founded in 2016.
Unitree recently made the news with the R1, an ultra-lightweight, fully customizable humanoid robot capable of walking, running, dancing, and much more besides. Priced at $5,900, Unitree is aiming the bipedal bot at developers, tech enthusiasts, research labs, and educational institutions.
