- Unitree launches Robot App Store
- This could be an absolute first place in the industry.
- The beta includes a handful of downloadable routines for the G1
Like many technologies to date, modern robots are looking for that cool application, the one thing they can do to make it so attractive that everyone wants one. But to find that app, you need a robot app store, or at least that’s the obvious thinking behind Unitre’s launch of the app store for its robots.
To be clear: it’s not something like, say, an App Store for the iPhone. The routines that Unitree customers can download are not as different as, for example, an app that can help you set a budget or an app that helps you calm down with daily aphorisms. Instead, Unitree’s app store is primarily a repository of templates or routines for robot tasks and movements.
The beta starts this week. in Unitree’s app store has a number of collections including Funny Actions, Twist Dance and Bruce Lee. As you might have guessed, the latter lets your $13,500 G1 humanoid “reproduce Bruce Lee’s classic martial arts moves.” The Funny Actions models let the G1 “unleash its wild nature.”
Unitree’s programming code is open source, meaning owners can write motion code and routines for their robots, and the App Store gives them a place to download them. It is unclear whether Unitree will review the software in the same way that Apple does with its App Store.
There are other issues and limitations. Currently, most application options are only available for the G1 model. Additionally, there is no clear monetization plan for Unitree or guest developers. In a short announcement video on YouTube, Unitree writes: “Excellent developers will be rewarded.” It could be money or discounts on future robots, like the new wild ballerina-like robot. H2.
Waiting for the robots’ iPhone
Unitree’s approach to robot development and awareness is markedly different from most of its competitors. Unlike 1X and Figure AI, which focus on more linear development, limited access and high prices, Unitree offers a growing range of robot designs (humanoids and quadrupeds) and pricing options.
The Chinese company also appears to be less focused on pure development and innovation than, say, Boston Dynamics, which is perfecting its all-electric Atlas, which will likely end up in factories long before it reaches consumers’ homes.
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On the other hand, Unitree seems to have sold many small G1s to at least a few rich influencers who filmed the robots. compromising situations (I will never forget seeing it a G1 slides right into a full-length mirror).
The App Store appears to be an extension of this strategy. Instead of halting development, Unitree opened its doors and encouraged developers to share. Provided developers can trust each other’s open source code, the existence of a “robot app store” could help accelerate robot development and innovation.
This is the good news. The bad news is that none of Unitree’s robots are considered the “iPhone robot”. I would say that such a humanoid robot does not exist yet. People may be excited about the 1X Neo Beta, but they won’t be that excited after spending $20,000 on a soft launch and teleoperation at home. Figure 03, which does not provide a timeline for housing availability, may suffer a similar fate.
Unitree’s robots, which mostly follow prescribed routines and seem to have little autonomy or ability to handle unexpected events, are also not iPhone-ready, despite costing just under $20,000.
For now, we can celebrate the creation of the first Robot App Store. It won’t be the last, but for this and many more, it will be a long wait before the perfect marriage of an affordable humanoid robot and the ever-desired “killer app” comes to fruition.
