Tech giants embracing humanoid robots

Unitree, UBTech among local firms wedding AI with lifelike androids

In a market accustomed to eye-catching innovations from the likes of Tesla's Optimus and Boston Dynamics' Atlas, the global humanoid robotics industry was recently wowed by a new product from Chinese startup Unitree Robotics.

Its surprisingly low price is what sets it apart: 99,000 yuan ($13,700) for its latest G1 humanoid robot. While many robots from other companies are priced from 150,000 to 200,000 yuan, or even into the millions, Unitree Robotics is positioning itself as a very strong competitor in terms of both price and performance, the company said.

Last year, Elon Musk suggested that the price of Tesla's Optimus would be around $20,000, claiming that only at this price point could such robots achieve widespread use in the real world.