China’s Unitree to livestream world’s first robot boxing match, G1 humanoids to take part

No other information has been released about the planned fight. It is also unclear exactly which models of Unitree’s robots will be used for the match.

The 4.3-foot (1.32 m) tall Unitree G1 is the most likely candidate for the fight. Another option is the company’s H1 model, which stands at 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) and could also appear.

Robot boxing is now a thing

This model features greater computing power and smoother motion control; it’s considered the company’s flagship robot. Whatever the case, the promo video that Unitree released gives us a flavor of what such a fight could look like.

As previously mentioned, the first section of the video shows a Unitree robot fighting a human opponent.

The G1 in this fight appears more sluggish than its human opponent but can quickly recover once hit to the ground. However, compared to humans, the robot is noticeably slower to react and is not as fluid when performing actions like dodging blows and keeping its balance after being hit.

The second fight in the video shows two robots facing off against one another, foreshadowing the event to come. Interestingly, however, the video also shows the robots showcasing more advanced Kung Fu moves, raising questions about whether the video may have been enhanced before release.

This news comes only months after the company made new with its robots showing off some impressive dance moves. back in January, Unitree released footage of their  H1, H1-2, and G1 humanoid robots to dance like a human.

This footage showed off the lifelike motions in the new datasets, which will help users experiment using humanoid robots to interact more naturally in the real world.

Prepare for battle

Unitree has been working hard to improve full-body movement control and taught the robot human-like walking, dancing, a few moves from well-known athletes and a kung fu trick.

But the robot’s boxing training has not yet reached its end. It can be assumed that Unitree will make a few more improvements before the announced fight.

According to reports, Unitree uses a motion data set created using LAFAN1 motion capture technology as the basis for full-body control. This dataset enables lifelike movements, considering the robot actuators’ end-position constraints, joint positions and speed limits.

The H1 is Unitree’s base commercial model, available for as little as $16,000 apiece. The G1 is an affordable yet cutting-edge humanoid robot aimed at researchers and hobbyists.

It is smaller than the H1 but is also very agile and can fold to a size that a single human can carry. The G1 comes complete with many of the same features as the H1 and can run almost as quickly at two meters per second.