Chinese robotics company Unitree just unveiled its initial public offering on the Shanghai stock market, and things are… going well. It probably has little to do with the new humanoid robot the company has teased, but debuting its new “Superman” bot probably didn’t hurt.
The new robot doesn’t have an official name, but it’ll likely be a letter followed by a number once it’s official. For the meantime, Unitree is touting its athletic capability. Based on the 30-second teaser, the company isn’t kidding.
Unitree is just… super
The company’s robot seems to support Unitree’s claims that it can reach speeds of 12.66 m/s. For comparison, Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt attains a speed of 12.4 m/s. The difference would allow the Chinese robot to complete a 100-metre sprint in 7.9 seconds (assuming a running start). It’s also able to clear a two-metre height from a standing position, something the company’s video shows convincingly.
What isn’t shown, or clearly explained, is how long the unnamed ‘bot can perform like this. Making a robot outsprint humans isn’t hard. Making it do so for more than minutes at a time is a fair bit more difficult. It’s not like Unitree doesn’t have a habit of erring on the side of marketing, either.
If its ‘Superman’ robot performs anything like the company’s IPO, which sought a valuation of $9 billion and ended up with $50 billion, the Chinese firm will probably be okay. We’ll keep an eye out for more details of Unitree’s metallic athlete in the meantime. We can’t wait for someone to buy one and dress it in a Sonic the Hedgehog costume.
