Humanoid robots are doing all sorts of things recently, like playing sport, and being sold for under $6,000 USD. Interesting Engineering spotted the R1, a new human-shaped robot developed by Unitree Robots in Hangzhou, with the surprisingly low price tag of 39,999 yuan. Sometimes the words "you get what you pay for" hit a little more prophetically than others.
The R1 are spry looking bot, boasting 26 joints with a marketing bent on being great for sports and other demanding activities. That's a whole lot of bot for under $6k. The pricing even undercuts Unitrees other models on offer, with its other cheaper units like the G1 coming in at at least 99,000 yuan. Unitree's flagship the H1 is closer to $90,000 USD, so there's no doubt the R1 would have to be a significantly cut down unit to garner that pricetag.
