After setting a brand new world velocity 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.
Yes, 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 toes.
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. Each 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 traces.
Unitree used reinforcement studying simulation to coach the H1 within the artwork of in-place flipping, which it nearly pulled off as deliberate – save for a corrective mini soar on the finish.
Unitree H1 The World’s First Full-size Motor Drive Humanoid Robot Flips on Ground
Though such a visually spectacular ability might be an essential factor to have in your robotic resume, real-world purposes past entertaining social gathering company appear considerably restricted. Fortunately, the H1 has already added doubtlessly extra helpful achievements to its improvement trophy cupboard – together with speed-walking, stair climbing, a standing-jump and even dancing.
The H1 is a pretty current entry to the humanoid improvement area, however already carries an estimated price ticket of US$90k – although may 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 might carry as much as 30 kg (66 lb) of payload. Its arms do not finish in human-like palms like Tesla’s Optimus or Figure’s 01 for the time being nonetheless, however such issues are being labored on.
While Unitree has claimed a world velocity report of three.3 meters per second (7.4 mph), the corporate expects the industrial unit to prime out at one thing like 5 m/s for common use. A head-mounted sensor array comprising 3D LiDAR and an Intel RealSense depth digicam makes for scanning the world round it. And the specs at present record a replaceable 864-Wh battery, but it surely’s nonetheless early days for the mission.
Source: Unitree