Unitree G1 is a compact humanoid robot made by Unitree Robotics of Hangzhou, China, sold today starting at US$13,500 through Unitree's own online store — one of the most affordable general-purpose humanoid robots on the market. It ships to researchers, universities, and developers now, with higher-spec "EDU" configurations available for AI and manipulation research.
What it is
G1 is a small, general-purpose bipedal humanoid robot platform aimed primarily at research, embodied-AI development, and education rather than heavy industrial labor — Unitree itself notes that G1's size means it cannot match a human worker's reach or lifting capacity.
Manufacturer & origin
G1 is built by Unitree Robotics (formally Hangzhou Yushu Technology Co., Ltd.), a Chinese robotics company based in Hangzhou best known for its quadruped "robot dogs" before it expanded into humanoids. G1 was first announced in May 2024 at the ICRA robotics conference at an original price of $16,000.
Build type & design
G1 is a bipedal humanoid available with an optional force-controlled, three-fingered dexterous hand (with optional tactile feedback), 3D LiDAR, and a depth camera for perception. The base configuration has 23 degrees of freedom, expandable to up to 43 DoF with EDU upgrades — Unitree cites an unusually large joint-movement angle range across the hips, waist, and shoulders as a design focus, aimed at making G1 flexible enough for both locomotion and manipulation research. It carries an onboard 8-core compute module with WiFi 6/Bluetooth 5.2, optionally paired with an NVIDIA Jetson Orin module for AI development, and supports continuous over-the-air (OTA) software updates so the software stack can keep improving after purchase.
Core specs
- Height: 132 cm standing (69 cm folded)
- Weight: about 35 kg with battery
- Degrees of freedom: 23 (base) up to 43 (EDU)
- Arm payload: about 2 kg per arm (base), 3 kg (EDU)
- Runtime: roughly 2 hours per charge
- Sensors: 3D LiDAR, depth camera, 4-microphone array
What it's used for
G1 is positioned for embodied-AI and imitation/reinforcement-learning research, university robotics labs, human-robot interaction studies, and general humanoid-robotics development, rather than factory-floor labor. Its relatively low cost compared with full-size humanoids like Unitree's own H1 has made it a popular platform for labs and startups that want to experiment with bipedal manipulation and locomotion without a six-figure budget.
Availability & price
G1 is in production and orderable now directly from Unitree's online shop, currently listed at $13,500 (excluding tax, shipping, and duties), down from its original $16,000 launch price announced in 2024. Higher-spec EDU configurations require contacting Unitree sales for a quote. As of mid-2026, the base unit was noted as backordered on Unitree's store, shipping once back in stock.