HANGZHOU: Chinese robotics company Unitree Robotics said it received orders immediately after unveiling its production-ready manned mecha robot, a futuristic machine whose debut drew widespread attention online this week.
The Unitree manned mecha, named GD01, is designed as a civilian transport device and can switch between bipedal and quadrupedal movement modes. Its release has drawn interest from robotics companies, technology observers and consumers watching China’s fast-growing humanoid robot industry.
In science fiction, a mecha is usually depicted as a giant humanoid robot or piloted machine. Unitree’s GD01 brings that concept closer to a real-world product, though the company said the model is still being refined.
The GD01 weighs about 500 kilograms with a person inside and is designed to maintain stability even when toppling a brick wall, according to the company.
Unitree founder and chief executive Wang Xingxing said in a written reply to Xinhua that the rollout was intended to accelerate the use of robotics across industries and improve human productivity.
“Humanoid robot technology and products are still at the dawn of their development. There are many challenges ahead, requiring industry-wide cooperation and continuous investments,” Wang said.
Experts assess market potential
The debut has prompted discussion about the mecha’s market positioning, technical maturity and future applications.
Industry experts said the GD01 has expanded public imagination around robotics, while noting that more information is needed on its continuous operation time, joint cooling systems, energy efficiency and other performance indicators.
Song Wei, secretary general of the Zhejiang Robot Industry Association, said the development path of the manned vehicle may follow Unitree’s quadruped robots: achieving a technological breakthrough, launching a product and then exploring applications through market feedback.
He said intermediate products that attract market attention and generate revenue can help the humanoid robot industry accumulate technology, develop markets and train talent.
Unitree’s robotics momentum
The manned mecha adds to a series of high-profile robotics demonstrations by the Hangzhou-based company this year.
In February, Unitree’s humanoid robots gained global attention after performing martial arts and stunt movements, including drunken boxing and backflips, during China’s Spring Festival Gala.
In April, the company’s humanoid robot broke the human world record for the 1,500-meter run in a Beijing humanoid robot half-marathon qualifying event, based on proportional calculation.
According to reports, Unitree’s humanoid robot shipments exceeded 5,500 units in 2025, while its global market share for quadruped robots remained between 60 and 70 percent.
Luo Jianlan, chief scientist at Shanghai-based intelligent robot manufacturer AgiBot, said 2026 is expected to be an important turning point for the robotics industry as companies move from broad demonstrations toward higher-performance practical applications.
A recent industry report said Chinese robotics companies became the world’s largest producers of humanoid robots in 2025, reflecting China’s rapid growth in the emerging manufacturing sector.
China’s robotics push is supported by a national strategy, a broad industrial ecosystem, fast product iteration and large-scale deployment capacity.
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