After setting a brand new world pace report for humanoid robots earlier this month, China’s Unitree is now claiming one other. Its newest H1 bipedal takes the title for first to carry out a standing backflip with out using hydraulics.
Sure, humanoids like Boston Dynamics’ Atlas have been nailing backflips for a couple of years now however they make use of heavy, doubtlessly leaky hydraulics to launch into the air, somersault backwards after which land on each ft.
Impressively, Unitree’s H1 depends on in-house M107 electrical joint motors solely, every of which boasts 360 Nm (265.5 lb.ft) of peak torque and may also be discovered on the corporate’s B2 quadruped. Every leg has three levels of freedom on the hip plus one on the knee and one other on the ankle, and all cabling is routed internally for snag-free clear strains.
Unitree used reinforcement studying simulation to coach the H1 within the artwork of in-place flipping, which it virtually pulled off as deliberate – save for a corrective mini bounce on the finish.
Unitree H1 The World’s First Full-size Motor Drive Humanoid Robotic Flips on Floor
Although such a visually spectacular talent might be an necessary factor to have in your robotic resume, real-world purposes past entertaining occasion company appear considerably restricted. Happily, the H1 has already added doubtlessly extra helpful achievements to its growth trophy cupboard – together with speed-walking, stair climbing, a standing-jump and even dancing.
The H1 is a pretty current entry to the humanoid growth area, however already carries an estimated price ticket of US$90k – although would possibly take as much as 10 years to look on {the marketplace}. It stands 1.8 m (71 in) tall, ideas the scales at 47 kg (104 lb) and may carry as much as 30 kg (66 lb) of payload. Its arms do not finish in human-like fingers like Tesla’s Optimus or Determine’s 01 in the meanwhile nonetheless, however such issues are being labored on.
Whereas Unitree has claimed a world pace report of three.3 meters per second (7.4 mph), the corporate expects the industrial unit to high out at one thing like 5 m/s for basic use. A head-mounted sensor array comprising 3D LiDAR and an Intel RealSense depth digital camera makes for scanning the world round it. And the specs presently checklist a replaceable 864-Wh battery, nevertheless it’s nonetheless early days for the venture.
Supply: Unitree