Robotics specialist Unitree has been making waves with its humanoid robots, and a new video shows its impressive bipedal G1 bot coping with incredibly cold conditions.
In a video showing the G1 trudging through deep snow, Unitree describes the feat as “the world’s first autonomous walking challenge for humanoid robots in an extreme weather environment of -53.32°F (-47.4°C).”
The stunt took place in China’s Altai region, about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) northwest of Beijing, where Unitree’s Snowbot trudged through deep snow to mark the Olympic rings in celebration of Friday’s opening of the Winter Olympics in Italy.
It’s not clear how long the robot ran or how often its battery needed to be replaced, but over the course of its freezing temperatures it managed to create an image 100 meters wide and 186 meters long.
Still, the fact that it worked at all in such cold conditions is clearly impressive. Icy temperatures can cause batteries to freeze, joints to stiffen, or electronics to become paralyzed, but the G1 managed to stay alive in this challenging environment, apparently helped by its puffer jacket, which may have been equipped with an internal heater.
The successful demonstration provides a glimpse into how the G1 or similar robots could one day be used for tasks such as search and rescue in polar environments, or even deployed to far-flung places such as Mars, where average temperatures reach around -76°F (-60°C).
China-based Unitree has emerged as a leading player in the increasingly competitive humanoid robotics sector. The G1 robot, which stands 132cm (4ft 4in) tall, also has the remarkable ability to regain control if it falls and can apparently also do a range of household chores.
While robotics companies face many challenges in preparing humanoid robots to perform specific tasks consistently, reliably, and truly independently, this year will be an exciting one for the industry.
