Be a hero, supervillain, or entitled commuter in Unitree's working mecha suitUnitree

Strap into this real-life mecha suit for just $650,000

by · New Atlas

Unitree has just gone and made many a kid-at-heart's wildest dream come true. The Chinese robotics firm has created the GD01, a functional mecha suit that you can hop into and walk about on two legs or four.

Dubbed a "civilian vehicle," the robot has room for a pilot to climb aboard and strap in, as the GD-01 lumbers about on two legs at a moderate walking pace. It can also bend over and use its arms as another set of legs, and crawl around if height poses an issue.

You can see the 8 ft 10 inch (2.7 m) mecha in action – reportedly with Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing on board piloting it – in a clip below, which actually raises more questions than it answers.

Unitree Unveils: GD01, A Manned Transformable Mecha, from $650,000

Right, so the machine has a rather janky design, and I imagine you wouldn't want to hit the transform button while you're in the cockpit because you'll find yourself on your back, staring up at the sky.

The GD01 stands nearly 9 ft tall – see human and humanoids for scale on the rightUnitree

We also don't know much about what this 1,100-lb (500-kg) robot is capable of, beyond noisily ambling through movie sets and knocking down hastily built walls like in the video. Can it lift objects, or navigate stairs and slopes? And how long will its battery last?

If its height presents a challenge, the GD01 can get to crawling like a gorillaUnitree

I'm also not sure why we're looking at an especially scratched up model, with what looks like old tires surrounding the cockpit that has exposed tubes and wires all over the place. And how do you drive this thing? There's no control panel or dashboard in front of the seat.

The scratched up paint job, zip-tied rubber tires on the frame, exposed wiring, and tricky ingress don't inspire much confidenceUnitree

Unitree says it's welcoming suggestions from the public, and aims to continually make improvements to the GD01. I sure would hope so, as this doesn't seem remotely ready even for private trials. The company hasn't wasted time in pricing it, though, at US$650,000 a pop. For that sort of dough, I'm not expecting anything out of Mobile Suit Gundam, but it'll need to do a lot better than moving unsteadily at walking pace.

Source: Unitree on Bilibili