Watch new humanoid robot pirouette, pose and pull off deft karate moves with eerily lifelike movement
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Chinese engineers have published a video of a robot that moves so fluidly you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s artificial intelligence (AI) generated.
In the video, the bipedal H2 model is seen posing, pirouetting and pulling off some remarkably deft karate moves, before strutting its stuff on an improvised catwalk. The smooth, silver-grey model bears a striking resemblance to Sonny, the AI-driven tritagonist in the 2004 sci-fi thriller, I, Robot — a likeness that has not gone unnoticed by internet users.
Specifics on the H2 remain thin on the ground, but in the captions accompanying the YouTube video, Unitree states that its new “bionic humanoid” is “born to serve everyone safely and friendly.”
In a disclaimer at the end of the video, the company also notes that “features vary by models and versions” and requests that “all users refrain from making any dangerous modifications or using the robot in a hazardous manner.” On that basis, we can safely assume that the H2 will be made available to purchase at some point in the future, though at the moment, a specific release date is lacking.
H2 Destiny follows the launch of Unitree’s G1 robot earlier in August 2024. A video released in 2025 showed it pulling off a complicated side flip.
The G1 “Evolution V3.0” stands at just over 4 foot 3 inches (130 cm) tall and weighs 77 pounds (35 kg). As well as sporting a 3D light detecting and ranging (lidar) and depth camera, G1 can run speeds of up to 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h) and incorporates 23 degrees of freedom — a measure of the number of individual movements the robot can make through its joints or axes.
Meanwhile, the H1 model — H2’s direct predecessor — was released in 2023, claiming to be the world’s fastest humanoid robot. A video published by Unitree at the time shows the robot running at a top speed of 7.4 miles per hour (11.9 km/h), though the startup claims the H1 can reach speeds of 11 mph (17.7 km/h).
Given the continuity in body size and design, the H2 is likely to build on many of the traits of its predecessor, which includes 360-degree depth sensing, 3D lidar and a front-mounted depth camera for navigation, along with 27 degrees of freedom.
Unitree also lists a maximum torque of 120 newton-meters in the arm joints and 360 newton-meters in the legs, giving the robot its fluid movements and eerily precise control over its limbs. This design enables the robot to perform tasks like lifting and moving objects, accessing hard-to-reach areas and traversing difficult terrain.
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