Unitree has a robot dog that moves at full speed through seemingly impossible terrain. His trick: legs with wheels

With the boom of humanoidsit seems that the quadruped robots They have taken a backseat, but Unitree has just shown that they can still leave us speechless. during this weekend a video has gone viral of his latest invention: a wheeled robot dog traversing terrain through which no other robot could move, and all at brutal speed.

It is called Unitree As2-W and what distinguishes it from other quadruped robots is that its legs have wheels. This allows you to overcome obstacles more easily and move very quickly. So much so that Unitree itself warns that the video is not acceleratedbut it is the real speed.

Up to 6 meters per second and 30km of autonomy

Many of the comments on networks refer to the speed at which it moves. A user in X says “Imagine trying to escape that thing”, another on YouTube comments “You can’t escape them now, guys!” Specifically, the robot can reach a speed of 3.7 meters per second, although it is capable of reaching peaks of 6 meters per second. This is equivalent to 13.3 km/h with sprints of 21.6 km/h, but if we take into account that the video shows how it descends very steep slopes, the speed it reaches is much higher.

It has a 15,000 mAh battery that allows you to walk non-stop for 3 hours, which translates into a total autonomy of 30 km. If the robot is loaded, the autonomy is reduced to 2 continuous hours and about 25 km. Speaking of weight, the robot weighs only 25 kg and is capable of moving 16 kg of load while walking, but supports up to 150 kg statically.

The secret is in the wheels (and their flexibility)

At a design level, the Unitree As2-W is the same as many of the robot dogs we have seen, with the main difference that it does not have pads on its legs, but rather wheels. These wheels have 7 inches in diameter which, combined with the wide range of movement of their joints, allows them to adapt to all types of terrain, reaching overcome obstacles 80 cm high and slopes of 45º inclination.

Regarding the flexibility of its legs, its body can rotate between -45º and 45º, the thigh between -115° to 200° and the calf between -159° and -47°. They are wide ranges that allow you to fold and extend the leg to absorb impacts after falling from great heights, adopt open postures for climbing, and reposition yourself very quickly after a jump.

In addition to being able to go down mountains and cross rivers (it has IP54 water resistance), in the video they also show how does stunts because of course, if not It wouldn’t be Unitree.

Your hiking companion or your worst nightmare

In the video, Unitree shows that its new robot is the perfect hiking companion that carries your backpack and always stays by your side thanks to its intelligent tracking system. However, while Unitree sells it to us as a kind of “sherpa”, A good part of the comments on networks point towards a very different use: its potential in military environments.

One of the comments with the most ‘likes’ on YouTube says “Imagine this dog chasing you through the jungle with weapons”, another points out that “Millions of soldiers are rethinking their lives after seeing this”, along with others like the one who jokes with a manhunt or mentions of the Black Mirror episode ‘Metalhead’. These are the typical comments that usually appear in robot videos, but it is still striking how the company’s marketing collides with the interpretation made by the networks.

Image | Unitree

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