Chinese robotics company Unitree is following its G1 humanoid robot’s martial arts tournament with a new, more affordable ‘bot. Called the Unitree R1 Intelligent Companion, it’ll set buyers back a little over R105,000 ($5,900) if they’re keen on sticking a walking, fighting robot in their homes.
Why you’d do that is a little less certain, but there’s no denying that it’s an affordable humanoid robot — relatively speaking. Buyers can customise the little guy to suit their needs, meaning Unitree expects you to figure out what you want to use the R1 for.
Taking the R1
Unitree Introducing | Unitree R1 Intelligent Companion Price from $5900
Join us to develop/customize, ultra-lightweight at approximately 25kg, integrated with a Large Multimodal Model for voice and images, let’s accelerate the advent of the agent era!🥰 pic.twitter.com/Q5pmkfFZZa— Unitree (@UnitreeRobotics) July 25, 2025
Standing around 1.2 metres tall and weighing just 25 kilograms, the new humanoid isn’t imposing in person, but a promotional video posted along with the price announcement shows that it’s got some serious moves. Whether those are pre-programmed or if you’ve got to put that effort in is less certain.
Unitree shows its new ‘companion’ walking, running, balancing on its hands, and performing various martial arts moves, from boxing to what looks like Wing Chun. There’s no denying that an intruder who isn’t expecting it will be shocked by its appearance in the dark, particularly if it starts cycling up its Jet Li/Donnie Yen protocols.
The robot’s size and weight mean our hypothetical intruder could probably take on in a fight. With just 26 joints making up its lightweight frame, the R1 doesn’t have the speed or agility of a human being. At least the binocular ocular system will let you record it getting its robotic ass kicked by anyone not scared off by its mere appearance, while you (or it) records the event via a four-microphone array.
If you have a quieter life planned for your R105,00 piece of robotics hardware, it’s fitted with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 as well as a “Large Multimodel Model” for the full Sarah Connor Future™ speedrun in your home. At least if it gains total sentience, you’ll only have to wait it out for an hour before the lithium-ion battery runs down before making your escape.
