G1

Overview

The Unitree G1 is the most affordable full-size bipedal humanoid on the market, priced at $13,500 (approximately £10,500). Standing 1.32 m tall with 23 degrees of freedom across legs, arms, and waist (expandable to 43 DoF on the EDU variant with optional upgrades), the G1 is designed to make humanoid robotics accessible to university labs, independent researchers, and early-stage startups. Unitree, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer well known for its quadruped robots including the Go2 and B2, launched the G1 in 2024 as a direct challenge to more expensive Western platforms. The company has consistently undercut competitors on price while maintaining competitive hardware specifications, a strategy that has made it one of the most visible names in the global research robotics market. The G1's 35 DoF actuation includes dexterous hands capable of simple manipulation tasks, making it relevant for embodied AI research where both locomotion and manipulation are required.

Key Specifications

• Height: 1.32 m (folded: 690 mm)
• Degrees of Freedom: 23 (expandable to 43 on EDU variant)
• Arm payload: approximately 2 kg (3 kg on EDU)
• Battery runtime: approximately 2 hours (9,000 mAh quick-release battery)
• Price: $13,500 (approx. £10,500)

Use Cases

The G1 targets research and education rather than commercial deployment. Its low price makes it viable for university robotics departments, AI researchers exploring locomotion and manipulation, and developers building embodied AI demonstrations. Several UK universities have acquired G1 units for gait analysis and reinforcement learning research. It is not suited to sustained industrial work given its 2 kg payload limit, but for software-focused research teams it provides a capable bipedal body at a fraction of the cost of alternatives.

Buying Used

Used Unitree G1 units have started appearing through online marketplaces and specialist robotics resellers. Key inspection points include joint actuator wear, foot pad condition, and battery health. Unitree's spare parts availability is reasonable, and the active open-source community helps with firmware and software issues.

Alternatives to Consider

• Hello Robot Stretch 3 ($17,000): purpose-built for research manipulation at a similar price, though non-bipedal
• Agibot Lingxi X2 ($29,999): larger payload and more capable hands, though significantly more expensive
• Noetix Bumi ($1,400): far cheaper for pure education use cases where locomotion research is not needed