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Another DeepSeek moment? China’s kung fu bot goes open source
China’s robotics race is whirling ahead – and it could give martial arts masters a run for their money
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From stiff-limbed dances to Bruce Lee-style whirlwind kicks, China’s humanoid robotics race just took a cinematic turn.
Unitree Robotics, the Hangzhou-based firm behind the viral G1 robot, has open-sourced its cutting-edge algorithms and hardware designs, mirroring the collaborative ethos that propelled AI breakthroughs such as DeepSeek’s open-source models.
A month after its awkward debut at China’s Spring Festival Gala, the G1 robot executed split-second martial arts manoeuvres in Unitree’s latest demo released on Wednesday.
Priced 99,000 yuan (US$13,622), the bot – equipped with 43 joints and mimicry learning – launched a spinning back kick so fluid it drew comparisons to Enter the Dragon.
“What moves do you want next?” Unitree teased on social media, signalling ambitions beyond the scripted choreography of rival Boston Dynamics.
In a playbook reminiscent of China’s AI open-source surge, Unitree has released data sets, reinforcement learning training code and hardware specs for its H1 and G1 models on GitHub, a platform often used to open source development projects.
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