Transformers in real life? It is the question that Internet users are asking after a Chinese robotics company presented the world’s first manned transforming robot that can make the transition between bipedal and quadrupedal walking.
Developed by Unitree Robotics, the GD01 is operated by a pilot seated in a built-in ‘cockpit’, who controls the 500kg machine.
A demonstration video shows the immense force with which it can break through a concrete wall, giving a feeling of the arrival of fictional Transformers characters to real life.
According to Unitree Robotics, the machine, which stands at a height of 9 feet, was built for civilian transportation, being the world’s first mass-produced “transformable mecha.”
The giant humanoid has a hefty price tag of $650,000. The price is preliminary and may be adjusted depending on the optimization of performance and production costs.
Experts say the development of the GD01 has given China a major advantage in the robotics race against the West. Robotics expert Lukas Ziegler expressed that the West was building incredible humanoids; However, China was building them faster, cheaper, and on a scale that no one else comes close to matching.
According to Huang Jiawei, a member of Unitree’s marketing staff, the product is still in its first generation at this stage and there is indeed a lot of room for imagination.
Technology and Strategy Research Institute vice president Chen Jing described the humanoid as more than just a proof of concept, adding: “It is a product with a clear price and a commercialization roadmap.”
Social media couldn’t get enough of the giant mecha, as one netizen declared it to be “every kid’s dream.” Another chimed in and said: “The world is now ready for a boxing match with aliens.”
