Rise of the killer robots? Watch the terrifying moment a humanoid bot survives being kicked and punched – before smashing its own hand with a hammer

Judging by the way robots are treated in demonstration videos, it’s hard to blame them for wanting to overthrow humanity.

This terrifying video shows a humanoid robot taking a beating from a human operator before hitting its own fingers with a hammer.

To make things even weirder, the robot also shows off its bizarrely flexible joints by contorting itself like something out of The Exorcist.

While they may be impressive, these creepy moves have led some social media commentators to call the robot “absolutely terrifying.”

But at just 127cm long (about the height of the average eight-year-old), the Unitree G1 might struggle to reach the top shelf, let alone destroy humanity.

In one creepy clip, the child-sized robot is seen smashing its own hand with a hammer

At the beginning of the video, the child-sized humanoid appears crumpled on the ground before standing up on his flexible joints.

This flexibility seems to be something Unitree is keen to emphasize, as the video also shows the robot wrapping itself up like an android contortionist.

Weighing just 35 kg, the G1 is portable, as a Unitree employee demonstrates by picking up the folded robot.

However, these particular contortions are most likely intended to imitate a recent video where Boston Dynamics showed off the flexibility of its humanoid Atlas robot.

In another move seemingly inspired by Boston Dynamics’ unique presentations, the Unitree team also subjects their robot to a series of kicks and punches to the chest.

Despite repeated attacks, G1 manages to absorb the shocks and stay upright, only stumbling backwards to regain his balance.

But some commenters on social media are unimpressed by the robot’s impressive tests, labeling the robot’s strange movements as “creepy.”

“We’re officially entering the era of robot snake people,” one YouTube commenter wrote.

The robot also shows off its flexible joints that can twist and rotate, giving it an impressive ability to move like a contortionist.

Another joked that Unitree was trying to “beat Boston Dynamics in the ‘scariest get-up routine.’

Several commenters also pointed out the somewhat unnerving disclaimer at the end of the video, which states: “Users are asked to maintain a sufficient safe distance between the humanoid robot and the humanoid robot.”

One commenter joked: “They can’t be plotting against us, can they?”

A few commenters even seemed genuinely concerned that the robot would start to resent all the abuse.

One commenter wrote: ‘Bro why do they always have to kick/hit the robot, they’ll take it personally once the singularity happens.’

“I feel like all these Android launch videos with the unnecessary kicking and punching part of it will come back to haunt us one day,” wrote another.

Meanwhile, one commenter simply added: “Don’t kick him hard, he has feelings.”

Another strange detail is that the video also shows G1 hitting his own hands with a hammer.

On social media, one commenter joked that this was the robot’s “debt collection mode.”

The robot can pack itself into a compact ball and, weighing just 35 kg, a human can pick it up and carry it around

The G1 demonstrates its impressive agility when performing tasks such as cooking and soldering

However, this seemingly unusual test can actually demonstrate an important ability.

It was recently revealed that Shadow Robot Company, a British company, had developed a super-durable robotic hand to help develop Google DeepMind’s AI robotics.

Similarly, Shadow Robot Company’s test videos showed their robot hand being pounded with hammers and slammed with pistons.

This robustness is necessary because AIs are often very rough and jerky when learning to operate robots, which often leads to breakages.

Unitree notes that the G1’s controls are “imitation and reinforcement learning,” which suggests that a tougher construct could be intended to survive the AI ​​learning process.

Still, it doesn’t seem like Unitree has sacrificed agility for toughness, as the video also shows the G1 using its three-fingered claw to perform a number of tasks.

It is not yet entirely clear what the intended use of this robot is. While it has some impressive features, it is also too small to replace humans in factory work

The G1 demonstrates some martial arts style moves with a stick, decapitates a Coke bottle, smashes a walnut and even demonstrates some soldering work.

However, some commentators were alarmed by the surprising amount of power the little robot was able to generate.

One commenter asked, “Am I the only one concerned that this robot can crush nuts with its bare hands?”

Another concerned commenter added: “Did anyone else imagine a human skull crushed under the robot’s fist instead of the walnut?”

This isn’t the first time one of Unitree’s robot creations has caused alarm, either.

The company used to be known for four-legged robots, one of which was recently used as the basis for a terrifying flamethrower robot.

With its extreme robustness, this latest humanoid robot may be reminiscent of the creepy killer robots from The Terminator (photo)

However, it recently branched out and this is now the second humanoid robot released by Unitree.

Earlier this year, Unitree’s H1 robot set a new speed record for humanoid machines with an impressive speed of 11 km per hour.

The new G1 is no slouch either, reaching top speeds of a respectable 7.2 km/h.

While €16,000 (€12,600) isn’t cheap, this is a bargain compared to the H1’s starting price of €90,000 (€71,000).

By comparison, Elon Musk has said he wants Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, to cost around $20,000, although the model has not yet gone into production.