Chinese Robot Startup Releases Half-Ton Mech Suit, Politely Asks People Not to Weaponize It
The 500 kg machine starts at 3.9 million yuan and can switch from two legs to four as Unitree expands civilian transport offerings.
- On Tuesday, Unitree Robotics unveiled the GD01, a manned transformable mecha designed for civilian transport that transitions between bipedal walking and four-legged mode.
- Chinese companies accounted for nearly 90 per cent of global humanoid sales in 2025 according to research firm Omdia, positioning the Hangzhou-based company to expand its portfolio.
- The 500kg machine carries a starting price of $650,000 and resembles an Autobot from a Transformers movie, though smaller than the fictional warriors of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- A demonstration video shows the pilot-operated GD01 knocking over a brick wall with its fist while the high-strength alloy machine reconfigures its chassis into a four-legged crawl.
- Unitree Robotics requested that users operate the vehicle in a "Friendly and Safe" manner and refrain from dangerous modifications or hazardous use.
31 Articles
31 Articles
For decades, science fiction films have shown giant machines driven by humans, capable of walking, running and transforming. Now, this idea seems to be approaching reality. The Chinese Unitree Robotics presented the...
Half-tonne $650,000 robot capable of smashing concrete blocks unveiled in China
A Chinese company has unveiled the world's first Transformers-style "mecha" robot weighing half a tonne. Unitree Robotics released footage of the "world's first production-ready manned mecha," the GD01, which has been described as a "civilian vehicle” available to buy from $650,000. In anime and manga, a "mecha" is a giant armoured robot, typically controlled by a person inside it. Footage released by the company on Tuesday (12 May) shows the ro…
Unitree unveils optionally manned transformer robot GD01
China’s robotics giant Unitree has unveiled the GD01, a mecha-style machine that can switch between two-legged and four-legged configurations. It resembles a real-life Autobot from the Transformers franchise and is built from high-strength alloy for civilian transport applications. According to the Hangzhou-based firm, it weighs 1102 pounds (500 kilograms) with a pilot on board and has a starting price of 3.9 million yuan (US$573,674). Recently,…
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