Unitree’s G1 Humanoid Robot Prepares for Iron Fist Awakening Boxing Match by Sparring with a Human

You’ve seen Unitree’s G1 before, but have you seen the 4.3-foot-tall robot kitted out with gloves and a helmet, sparring against a human and another G1? You’ll see it doing just that in the company’s latest video, throwing punches, attempting dodges, and even getting back up after being knocked down.

It’s getting ready for a big event called “Unitree Iron Fist King: Awakening” happening next month. You can tell G1’s moves are a bit clunky—its reactions are slow, and it wobbles a bit, so it’s not quite a boxing champ like Mike Tyson yet. Still, the robot uses LAFAN1 motion capture tech to copy human moves, but its boxing could use some extra practice.

The G1 has 23 to 43 joint motors, depending on which version, letting it move in lots of ways. Each arm can bend in 5 spots, each leg in 6, and the waist adds 1 more, giving it human-like wiggle room for punches and steps. It blends force and position data to make its moves sharp and quick. That’s super important so G1 doesn’t just swing wildly or punch too hard, and it helps the robot stay steady after getting hit, like when it gets back up after a fall.

Unitree trains G1 with LAFAN1 motion capture tech, which takes human boxing moves—like how joints bend, how fast they go, and how the body stands—and puts them into the robot to make its punches and sways look more real. It’s not perfect—you can see it’s a bit slow to dodge in the video—but that’s why G1 can try tricky move patterns at all.