$1,600 Unitree Go2 Robot Dog Teardown Reveals Easily Replaceable Parts, But There’s One Problem

You’ve seen the G1 humanoid robot perform Kung Fu moves, now check out what’s inside the $1,600 Unitree Go2 robot dog, courtesy of iFixit’s teardown video. We’ll start with the good, and its most important part, the battery, is easily replaceable, as the pack itself is just an array of standard 2000mAh 18650 cells.

They also discovered that its legs are also easily replaceable, although actually finding a replacement might be an issue. One of the negative observations is the Go2’s neck fragility. iFixit tested the robot by having it navigate stairs, and upon disassembly, they discovered a crack across the neck’s internal structure

On the positive side, the Go2 impressed with its modularity. Each motor connects separately, and most components are labeled, making isolated repairs straightforward. This is a big win for repairability, as it means you don’t need to dismantle the entire robot to fix a single part. The use of connectors rather than soldered joints simplifies maintenance, a thoughtful design choice for a device marketed to both researchers and hobbyists.

The teardown also revealed “liberal amounts of tape, silicone, epoxy, and glue” throughout the robot. While this might sound messy, iFixit notes it’s standard engineering for a gadget built to withstand repeated shocks and vibrations.