World's fastest humanoid robot sprints at full pelt
Technology
Chinese startup have now broken the Guinness World Record for the fastest full-sized humanoid robot
(Web Desk) - The terrifying reality comes from Unitree Robotics, whose H1 V3.0 Evolution faceless droid will never tire of running.
The Chinese startup, which is based just outside of Shanghai in Hangzhou, have now broken the Guinness World Record for the fastest full-sized humanoid robot.
The firm wants to democratise legged robotics and make them as common and affordable as modern devices like drones and smartphones.
As a result, they've cooked up a robot equipped with an innovative “powertrain [that] provides the highest level of speed, power, manoeuvrability, and flexibility,” according to their website.
Unitree has since released a spine-tingling video of their robotic creation achieving its linear walking speed of 7.38mph.
In the footage uploaded to YouTube, the improved H1 V3.0 is seen showing off its range of dynamic movements.
It begins by breaking into a fast-paced walk, before it is then seen exercising its arms, legs, and torso as part of a choreographed dance routine.
A stunning clip also reveals the robot jumping up into the air, reaching the equivalent height a human would achieve.
If that wasn't scary enough, then the robot is also capable of walking up and down stairs.
Furthermore, it can rotate in either direction should it require to change course or overcome obstacles.
The previous speed record for a humanoid was achieved by Boston Dynamics’s Atlas, with its ability to move at 5.59 mph.
But Unitree's 5ft9in metal frame has eclipsed that, thanks to its gear train and in-house built high-torque joint motor.
Weighing 100lbs, the robot is also fitted with a depth camera and a 3D LiDAR sensor for vision.
There are five degrees of freedom (DOF) in the joints of the legs and four in the arms, while its hand are replaced by a padded protrusion at the end of its arm.
Perhaps even scarier than its ability to run is its inability to tire.
Unlike a human, this bot can keep on running without fatiguing- unless its power source is drained or destroyed, of course.
That was shown in a separate video where a Unitree engineer is shown kicking a H1 model as it drives down the street in an attempt to stop it from moving.
Yet all of these attempts are in vain because the robot always manages to reestablish equilibrium after any disturbance.
Furthermore, the help of its 3D LIDAR means inspection errors and time costs can be greatly decreased by automatically planning paths, avoiding collisions, and performing high-accuracy scanning.
Unitree unveiled their most recent version in the humanoid robot marketplace and, as expected, it's already in high demand.
