Chinese Robot Takes Down Assailant with Kung Fu... "Technological Breakthrough 1-2 Years Away"

China's Unitree Releases Demo on Its Social Media Channels
Some Also Point Out, "It's Unclear Whether the Moves Were Staged or Autonomous"

Unitree, a leading Chinese robotics company, has drawn attention after unveiling a bodyguard robot. The robot performed elaborate moves reminiscent of Chinese martial arts and displayed tremendous strength, including striking the side of a vehicle and damaging it.

On October 22 local time, Unitree released a demonstration video of its new humanoid model, the "H2-X Kung Fu Legend Guardian," through its official social media channels, including YouTube. As its name includes "Kung Fu," the humanoid showcased elaborate moves reminiscent of Chinese martial arts.

Unitree's new bodyguard humanoid robot. Screenshot from Unitree's social media accounts.

In the video, the robot performs moves suited to security work, such as leaping from a height of 4 meters and landing in a forward roll, as well as taking down an assailant armed with a knife with a spinning kick.

It also displays tremendous strength, lifting the front of a vehicle to rescue someone trapped underneath and sprinting at high speed to strike and dent the side of a vehicle. Unitree said the product's battery can last up to 8 hours and cautioned people to stay about 2 to 3 meters away from the robot.

Some, however, have suggested that the robot's movements may have been carefully staged. Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) noted that the product's release schedule, price, and specific technical specifications had not been disclosed, and that it was unclear whether the movements shown in the video were performed autonomously by the robot or choreographed in advance.

Meanwhile, according to Chinese media outlets including The Paper, Unitree Chairman Wang Xingxing said in a speech at the "World Physical AI Competition and Unitree Partner Ecosystem Conference" in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on October 22 that robot-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology was showing signs of breaking through its limits.

"With the announcement of OpenAI's GPT-6, physical AI is already showing signs of a [technological] breakthrough. It could happen within 1 to 2 years, or perhaps 2 to 3 years," Wang said. He added that the mass production of robot hardware and the development of AI models needed to control robot posture would become increasingly important.

The title of Wang's speech that day was "Believe, Believe in AI as Much as Possible." He cited "not believing enough in AI" as his biggest mistake 10 years ago and repeatedly emphasized that his company's employees, too, should have "faith" in AI.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.