Unitree Robotics has unveiled the GD01, a manned mecha the company describes as the world’s first production-ready civilian mecha vehicle, weighing approximately 500 kilograms including the driver and starting at 3.9 million yuan ($650,000).
A video of a Unitree humanoid and an EngineAI robot trading punches and kicks in a San Francisco Bay Area storefront has gone viral, billed by organizers as the first public fight between robots from two different manufacturers.
Unitree Robotics has unveiled the GD01, a manned mecha the company describes as the world’s first production-ready civilian mecha vehicle, weighing approximately 500 kilograms including the driver and starting at 3.9 million yuan ($650,000).
Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology have developed a soft robotic arm modeled on the elephant trunk’s muscular architecture, capable of handling fragile objects and heavy loads with the same system, using 3D-printed pneumatic actuators and integrated optical sensing.
UBTECH Robotics and Hitachi China have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to deploy Walker S2 humanoid robots across Hitachi’s manufacturing operations, with elevator production already in active testing at Hitachi Elevator’s facility.
Unitree Robotics has launched UniStore, described as the world’s first humanoid robot application store, allowing users to browse, download, and install motion and task packages onto Unitree robots with a single tap from a smartphone app.
Tesla built its last Model S and Model X at Fremont on May 9, ending a combined 14-year production run as the company converts the assembly space to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots, targeting one million units per year.
HD Hyundai Robotics has secured its first robotic welding order from a U.S. shipyard operator, supplying its ArcLift GO system to three Chouest Group facilities in North America and one in Brazil, as skilled welder shortages drive automation demand in American shipbuilding.
The Seoul Welfare Foundation has selected six nursing facilities to receive AI and robotics technology under a pilot program targeting the physical burden of caregiving, as South Korea’s demographic shift accelerates pressure on its senior care workforce.
A Unitree G1 humanoid robot named Gabi was ordained as a Buddhist monk at Seoul’s Jogyesa Temple in a ceremony hosted by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, pledging devotion to the Buddha and committing to a set of vows adapted for an AI system.
Despite record investment, viral demonstrations, and bold commercial timelines, the gap between what humanoid robots can do on camera and what they can reliably deliver in real industrial environments remains significant – and is being increasingly acknowledged by the people building them.
Genesis AI has unveiled GENE-26.5, a robotics foundation model paired with a human-scale robotic hand and a data-collection glove that enables 1:1 skill transfer from humans to robots, targeting complex long-horizon manipulation tasks at commercial scale.
1X Technologies has launched full-scale production of its NEO humanoid robot at a 58,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, California, with consumer shipments scheduled for 2026 and early units already operating on the factory floor to generate training data.