Two robot arms on the wheel, legs stretched forward, and off it goes. A humanoid drives between the red and white barriers of a kart track. The amusing detail is also the interesting one: it uses the kart much as a person would.
The demonstration identifies the machine as a Unitree G1. This compact humanoid is around 1.32 metres tall and weighs about 35 kilograms. Its human shape gives it a body for operating equipment that already exists.
A steering wheel is a tool too
The hands must stay in place, the arms must turn and the torso must fit the seat. Unitree lists 23 degrees of freedom for the standard G1, with more available on research configurations. These are separate directions in which its joints can move, allowing the arm position and hand orientation to change together.
The robot has a depth camera and 3D lidar. Unitree also uses imitation and reinforcement learning to develop movement skills. Those capabilities do not establish who controls the throttle, braking or route here: the footage does not resolve whether the demonstration uses remote control or autonomy.
The bigger idea behind the human shape
A self-driving car can control its steering electronically. The broader attraction is other human equipment: doors, tools and workbenches. A robot that can use those interfaces may need fewer specially rebuilt surroundings. The kart makes that idea immediately tangible.
