Ready, set, fight: Unitree’s humanoid robots test skills in unique kickboxing competition

Unitree fielded four G1 humanoid robots in one-on-one kickboxing matches at an event held in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province

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Unitree Robotics’ G1 humanoid robots square off at a kickboxing tournament in Hangzhou on Sunday. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:30pm, 26 May 2025Updated: 4:36pm, 28 May 2025

Humanoid robots from start-up Unitree Robotics showed off their fighting form at a unique kickboxing competition held in Hangzhou on Sunday, weeks after Beijing hosted the world’s first half-marathon where these machines raced alongside humans.

Organised by state-owned China Media Group and broadcast live by China Central Television (CCTV), the competition saw four Unitree G1 humanoid robots square off in one-on-one matches where they punched, kicked and even did a kip-up – an acrobatic transition from prone position to a standing position – after getting knocked down.

The G1 robots – each standing 130 centimetres tall, weighing 35 kilograms, and wearing protective headgear and standard kickboxing gloves – were put through their paces via remote control and voice commands by their human controllers at ringside.

Unlike typical remote-controlled toys, handling Unitree’s G1 robots entails “a whole set of motion-control algorithms powered by large [artificial intelligence] models”, said Liu Tai, deputy chief engineer at China Telecommunication Technology Labs, which is under research institute China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Before their refereed matches started, each G1 robot “warmed up” by showing their capabilities in punching, feinting by using side steps, kicking and staying balanced when pushed.

The G1 kickboxers fought in three two-minute rounds, in which one scored by landing strikes to its opponent’s head or trunk using either hands or feet. The highest-scoring robot won. A winner was also decided when a knocked down robot failed to stand up after 8 seconds.