Chinese company launches human-carrying robot that can transform

In the video, Wang Xingxing, CEO of Unitree Robotics, sits in the cockpit of GD01 – introduced as the world’s first mecha robot (large-sized robot, often looking like a human or animal, with a cockpit for the operator) ready for commercial production. The video shows the robot capable of carrying people, walking, knocking down a stack of bricks by hand, and switching between bipedal and quadrupedal configurations.

Theo Interesting EngineeringGD01 is about 2.7 m tall and weighs about 500 kg when someone is sitting inside. Unitree Robotics positions robots as a civilian vehicle. However, many social network users commented that the price of 650,000 USD that the company offered was too high compared to ordinary consumers.

Huang Jiawei, marketing officer at Unitree Robotics, said this is only a preliminary reference price. “The final production version can still be tweaked depending on performance optimization,” Huang told Global Times on May 12, said that although the company has the ability to produce on a large scale, optimizing functions and reducing costs still needs more time.

“Unitree’s product application scenarios are mainly aimed at changing the way humans work. For example, our robots can be used in harsh and high-risk environments,” Huang added.

Telecommunications and technology analyst Ma Jihua assessed that GD01 has many potential applications such as working in amusement parks, filming, rescue and operating in harsh environments.

According to Chen Jing, vice president of the Institute of Strategy and Technology Studies, GD01 shows that China has passed an important technical threshold in embodied AI. This is no longer a demonstration machine limited to the laboratory but a product with a clear price and commercialization roadmap. “The robot’s weaknesses are mainly related to real-world usability, including difficulty getting the operator in and out of the cockpit, comfort, battery life, legal regulations and maintenance complexity,” Chen added.

Unitree Robotics has only revealed a few technical specifications about the GD01. The company also issued a safety warning, advising users not to attempt dangerous modifications or extreme tests, noting the robot is still in beta with functional limitations for individual users.

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China has maintained its position as the world’s largest industrial robot market for many years. As of mid-April, China had 964 companies related to humanoid robots. The number of patent applications in this field reaches 1,174 in 2025, an increase of 89.7% over the previous year and a five-year high.