Kartikeya Walia , Nottingham Trent University

You might have noticed that humanoid robots are having a bit of a moment. From Tesla’s Optimus to Figure AI’s Figure 02 , these machines are no longer just science fiction – they’re walking, and in some cases, cartwheeling into the real world.

Now China’s Unitree Robotics, best known for its nimble quadruped robots, has unveiled something that’s turning heads: the Unitree R1 .

For one thing, it’s a humanoid robot priced at under US$6,000. That’s not pocket change, but it’s orders of magnitude cheaper than most robots in its class, which can run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The R1 packs serious mobility, sensors and AI potential into a package that could fit in a university lab, a workspace – or even, if you

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