3 ms·

Chinese Unitree's demos are better by now imo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dFTc4W8wm0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dFTc4W8wm0

hobofan 2y ago
What? The humanoid robot in the video is walking on the most even surface possible. Boston Dynamics has a more impressive walking video from 11 years ago (obviously restricted by the hardware at the time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6Okylclb8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6Okylclb8 Yes, human-looking gait is nice, but it isn't worth anything if it can't translate to real-world settings.
modeless 2y ago
Unitree is catching up to Boston Dynamics in locomotion, but has not surpassed them yet I think. Unitree's real advantage is the much lower cost of their hardware and their ability to mass produce their robots. But IMO manipulation is harder than locomotion, both in hardware and software, and neither company is convincingly ahead there. I think the uncut laundry demo from Physical Intelligence a few days ago is better than anything shown by Unitree or BD for manipulation. https://www.physicalintelligence.company/blog/pi0#:~:text=After%20post%2Dtraining%2C%20the%20robot%20can%20unload%20the%20dryer%2C%20bring%20the%20clothes%20over%20to%20the%20table%2C%20and%20fold%20the%20clothes%20into%20a%20stack.%20The%20video%20is%20uncut%2C%20from%20a%20single%20policy%20operating%20fully%20autonomously https://www.physicalintelligence.company/blog/pi0#:~:text=Af....
- jemmyw 2y ago
  I don't really want a robot wandering around doing laundry. I think what most people want is a box you dump clothes in and they come out folded, an extra machine next to the dryer. That would be a genuine time saver. I hate scaling Mount Foldmore.
  - golol 2y ago
    Well the robot is that machine....and much more.
  - 9dev 2y ago
    The horror!
  - modeless 2y ago
    I don't want more machines taking up space in my home. I don't want a bunch of special purpose "smart" devices with buggy software and dedicated apps requiring logins and firmware updates to plug security holes. I want one robot that can do it all. I'd get rid of my security system, cameras, smart thermostat, dishwasher, clothes washer, stand mixer, toaster, etc etc.
    - jemmyw 2y ago
      I put the laundry on this morning, came into the kitchen and got a bread mix going, made some toast while that was mixing. The dishwasher was just finishing. Having to wait for one machine to serially finish doing each job not quite as well as a dedicated machine, before doing the next job, doesn't sound ideal. Plus when the dishwasher breaks I can still have toast.
      - modeless 2y ago
        The robot can do the dishes and the laundry while you aren't even there. No need for that to happen during breakfast! It can start making breakfast before you even wake up, if you want.
  - dyauspitr 2y ago
    Clearly it’s not easy to solve the folding machine problem because otherwise we would have one of those already. I absolutely wouldn’t mind a robot helper walking around the house and going what my maid currently does.
  - gehwartzen 2y ago
    Not at the level of dumping a basket of dryer clothes into a folding machine but getting close: https://foldimate.website/ https://foldimate.website/
    - jemmyw 2y ago
      I took a look. It seems that the original company folded (ha) in 2021 and I'm not sure who owns it now or what the level of support would be like.
- osigurdson 2y ago
  Why do robot companies insist on beating up their robots?
  - torlok 2y ago
    Because that's what you'll do when you have a bad day, and this piece of trash gets stuck for the 5th time this week.
  - captaindiego 2y ago
    They put a lot of work into the control algorithms that allow the robots to move. From a control theory perspective, being hit is a disturbance that the control system is able to reject to maintain the intended pose/motion.
    - modeless 2y ago
      It also shows the strength of the hardware. Unitree sells the hardware so it's a hardware demo as much as a software one.
  - throwaway313373 2y ago
    You have to make sure that robots know their place. Today you treat them too gently, tomorrow you have a robot uprising destroying the whole humanity on your hands. Haven't the last century of sci-fi books and movies taught you this?
emchammer 2y ago
LMAO Boston Dynamics used to have a guy randomly coming into the frame and giving the robot a kick and show it could recover, Unitree goes all-out kung fu on them.
toxik 2y ago
Unitree products feel like oversized toys, not serious research platforms.
yumraj 2y ago
Something rubs me the wrong way when the dog is hit and kicked, and we don't have a dog. I know it's a robot but the same could be demonstrated without clear violence. Maybe it's just me..
- ribcage 2y ago
  Unfortunately some humans are just violent in nature. Or perhaps most. When robots become as intelligent as humans, some people might enjoy abusing them like they once enjoyed abusing people of different skin color.
- amelius 2y ago
  It is expected that some humans will not accept robots walking among the public. So they have to be vandalism-proof. However, the guy in the video is attacking the robot in the wrong way. He should be using a spray paint can instead of a baseball bat.
  - DoctorOetker 2y ago
    what if the robot has little vials of acetone, IPA, etc. to wash off its lenses, while switching to mm-wave vision (not even dead reackoning) returns the favor to the offending human while cleaning its lens...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
nikolay 2y ago
Plus at least 10x cheaper!

hobofan 2y ago

What? The humanoid robot in the video is walking on the most even surface possible. Boston Dynamics has a more impressive walking video from 11 years ago (obviously restricted by the hardware at the time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6Okylclb8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD6Okylclb8 Yes, human-looking gait is nice, but it isn't worth anything if it can't translate to real-world settings.

modeless 2y ago

Unitree is catching up to Boston Dynamics in locomotion, but has not surpassed them yet I think. Unitree's real advantage is the much lower cost of their hardware and their ability to mass produce their robots. But IMO manipulation is harder than locomotion, both in hardware and software, and neither company is convincingly ahead there. I think the uncut laundry demo from Physical Intelligence a few days ago is better than anything shown by Unitree or BD for manipulation. https://www.physicalintelligence.company/blog/pi0#:~:text=After%20post%2Dtraining%2C%20the%20robot%20can%20unload%20the%20dryer%2C%20bring%20the%20clothes%20over%20to%20the%20table%2C%20and%20fold%20the%20clothes%20into%20a%20stack.%20The%20video%20is%20uncut%2C%20from%20a%20single%20policy%20operating%20fully%20autonomously https://www.physicalintelligence.company/blog/pi0#:~:text=Af....

jemmyw 2y ago
I don't really want a robot wandering around doing laundry. I think what most people want is a box you dump clothes in and they come out folded, an extra machine next to the dryer. That would be a genuine time saver. I hate scaling Mount Foldmore.
- golol 2y ago
  Well the robot is that machine....and much more.
- 9dev 2y ago
  The horror!
- modeless 2y ago
  I don't want more machines taking up space in my home. I don't want a bunch of special purpose "smart" devices with buggy software and dedicated apps requiring logins and firmware updates to plug security holes. I want one robot that can do it all. I'd get rid of my security system, cameras, smart thermostat, dishwasher, clothes washer, stand mixer, toaster, etc etc.
  - jemmyw 2y ago
    I put the laundry on this morning, came into the kitchen and got a bread mix going, made some toast while that was mixing. The dishwasher was just finishing. Having to wait for one machine to serially finish doing each job not quite as well as a dedicated machine, before doing the next job, doesn't sound ideal. Plus when the dishwasher breaks I can still have toast.
    - modeless 2y ago
      The robot can do the dishes and the laundry while you aren't even there. No need for that to happen during breakfast! It can start making breakfast before you even wake up, if you want.
- dyauspitr 2y ago
  Clearly it’s not easy to solve the folding machine problem because otherwise we would have one of those already. I absolutely wouldn’t mind a robot helper walking around the house and going what my maid currently does.
- gehwartzen 2y ago
  Not at the level of dumping a basket of dryer clothes into a folding machine but getting close: https://foldimate.website/ https://foldimate.website/
  - jemmyw 2y ago
    I took a look. It seems that the original company folded (ha) in 2021 and I'm not sure who owns it now or what the level of support would be like.
osigurdson 2y ago
Why do robot companies insist on beating up their robots?
- torlok 2y ago
  Because that's what you'll do when you have a bad day, and this piece of trash gets stuck for the 5th time this week.
- captaindiego 2y ago
  They put a lot of work into the control algorithms that allow the robots to move. From a control theory perspective, being hit is a disturbance that the control system is able to reject to maintain the intended pose/motion.
  - modeless 2y ago
    It also shows the strength of the hardware. Unitree sells the hardware so it's a hardware demo as much as a software one.
- throwaway313373 2y ago
  You have to make sure that robots know their place. Today you treat them too gently, tomorrow you have a robot uprising destroying the whole humanity on your hands. Haven't the last century of sci-fi books and movies taught you this?

emchammer 2y ago

LMAO Boston Dynamics used to have a guy randomly coming into the frame and giving the robot a kick and show it could recover, Unitree goes all-out kung fu on them.

toxik 2y ago

Unitree products feel like oversized toys, not serious research platforms.

yumraj 2y ago

Something rubs me the wrong way when the dog is hit and kicked, and we don't have a dog. I know it's a robot but the same could be demonstrated without clear violence. Maybe it's just me..

ribcage 2y ago
Unfortunately some humans are just violent in nature. Or perhaps most. When robots become as intelligent as humans, some people might enjoy abusing them like they once enjoyed abusing people of different skin color.
amelius 2y ago
It is expected that some humans will not accept robots walking among the public. So they have to be vandalism-proof. However, the guy in the video is attacking the robot in the wrong way. He should be using a spray paint can instead of a baseball bat.
- DoctorOetker 2y ago
  what if the robot has little vials of acetone, IPA, etc. to wash off its lenses, while switching to mm-wave vision (not even dead reackoning) returns the favor to the offending human while cleaning its lens...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

nikolay 2y ago

Plus at least 10x cheaper!