Unitree’s robots have a long march to usefulness
Dancing or folding laundry in controlled settings makes for a good show, but the real opportunity lies in dirty, dangerous and dull jobs.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A Unitree humanoid robot making sandwiches at the 2026 World Robot conference on Aug 19. China has an early lead in the development of these robots, which excel in controlled settings but lack general skills, the writer says.
PHOTO: AFP
Catherine Thorbecke
Fresh off a blockbuster public markets debut, Unitree Robotics’ founder Wang Xingxing conceded that his company still has not figured out how to make humanoids truly useful.
Robots can perform well in controlled settings, but are still far from a general-purpose technology in the real world, Wang acknowledged during a keynote at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Aug 20. Even so, he expects “mass-market” reach within a decade. That is very optimistic.
