Surely the robots that’ve been heavily marketed with all kinds of martial arts stunts would never be designed for violent ends, right?
We’re less certain than ever. On Wednesday, China’s Unitree released a teaser for its new “bodyguard” robot. Like with its uber-popular G1 model, it demonstrated that the humanoid robot, the H2-X “Kung Fu Legend: Guardian,” could pull off all sorts of physical feats — only this time it’s implied that these violent capabilities aren’t only for show.
In a promotional video, the robot performs its own veritable Jackie Chan highlight reel, front-flipping over cars, somersaulting after jumping from a high point, and flying through a series of acrobatic kicks.
At one point, it even lifts a vehicle to save someone from being crushed, punches a dent in the door of another, and scares off a (staged) knifeman.
The robot is built on Unitree’s existing H2 model, a full-sized robot that stands at 71 inches tall at weighs around 155 pounds.
It’s still unclear how Unitree intends the robot to be used, beyond branding it as a robotic bodyguard. Unitree highlighted that the new model could operate for about eight hours while standing. But should customers expect their clanker guardians to bust out kung fu moves while they’re feeling threatened? Will the robot know when to intervene without being told to?
We also don’t know if the video shows the robot acting on its own, being teleoperated, or carrying out pre-programmed moves. And anyway, it’s easy to see how the robot’s heroics could end up going wrong in the real world.
Look no further than one of the video’s most eyebrow raising stunts, in which the robot dives in to save a child from a slowly moving car. It looks like the stuff of epic action heroes, but the 150-pound pile of metal sends the child dummy absolutely flying onto the pavement — which outside the fantasy realm of a slick tech demo, would be a one way ticket to brain damage. We’ve already seen videos of the painful aftermath of getting kicked in the chest by a G1 robot (the victim: a little kid) or hit in the nose by another.
As of now, Unitree hasn’t said how much the robot would cost or when it would go on sale.
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