Unitree Robotics
Hangzhou maker of low-cost quadrupeds and humanoids with published prices. EDU models expose low-level DDS control and BSD-3 SDKs, with documented security and regulatory risks.
| Organisation | Unitree Robotics (Hangzhou, China; founded 2016; listed on the Shanghai STAR Market since August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Website | www.unitree.com/ |
| Licensing | Robot firmware proprietary; unitree_sdk2, unitree_sdk2_python, unitree_ros2 and unitree_mujoco under BSD-3-Clause |
| Pricing | Go2 from USD 1,600 (AIR), 2,800 (PRO) and 4,500 (X), G1 from USD 13,500, R1 from USD 5,900, excluding tax and shipping; EDU versions and B2 by sales quote |
| Updated | 14 Nov 2026 |
Products and offerings #
| Name | Kind | Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Go2 | quadruped | 12-joint quadruped, about 15 kg, about 7 to 8 kg payload depending on version |
| B2 | quadruped | Industrial quadruped, about 60 kg, more than 40 kg continuous walking load |
| G1 | humanoid | Humanoid, 1320 mm tall, about 35 kg, 23 DoF (basic) or 23 to 43 DoF (EDU) |
| R1 | humanoid | Small humanoid, 1230 mm tall, about 29 kg, 26 joints |
| unitree_sdk2 | library | C++ SDK over Cyclone DDS for high- and low-level control, with Python bindings |
Who they are
This hub is for labs and developers who want a legged robot at a price a small team can fund, and who need to know the trade-offs. Unitree was founded in 2016 by Wang Xingxing, now its CEO, according to the company’s about page. It is based in Hangzhou and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market on 19 August 2026, according to BusinessDay. Its range covers quadrupeds (Go2, B2, A2), humanoids (G1, H1, H2, R1), arms and dexterous hands.
Unitree is unusual among the makers on this site because it publishes prices. Published prices plus low-level motor access on the EDU versions make the Go2 and G1 practical for locomotion research and sim-to-real work.
Tooling and APIs
The Go2 has 12 joint motors and weighs about 15 kg in every version, according to the Go2 page. The AIR (USD 1,600) carries about 7 kg, the PRO (USD 2,800) and X (USD 4,500) about 8 kg, all excluding tax and freight. The EDU version is by quote. The page marks secondary development as fully supported on EDU, partial on X and unsupported on AIR and PRO, so buy the EDU if you want to write your own controllers. Unitree does not state a reach for its legged robots. The robot reference lists the Go2.
The G1 humanoid is 1320 mm tall and weighs about 35 kg. The basic version costs USD 13,500 with 23 DoF and about 2 kg arm payload. The EDU version has 23 to 43 DoF and about 3 kg arm payload, and only EDU supports secondary development, according to the G1 page. The R1 (1230 mm, about 29 kg, 26 joints) costs USD 5,900, according to the R1 page.
unitree_sdk2 (BSD-3-Clause) is a C++ library built on Cyclone DDS. Its examples include high-level “sport” clients and low-level motor command programs for Go2 and G1. Its prebuilt environment is Ubuntu 20.04 with GCC 9.4 on aarch64 or x86_64. Python bindings are in unitree_sdk2_python.
ROS 2 support comes from unitree_ros2 (BSD-3-Clause). Because the robots already speak DDS, it supplies message definitions and lets ROS 2 nodes talk to the robot directly, with no bridge node. The README lists Go2, B2 and H1, and tests on ROS 2 Foxy (Ubuntu 20.04) and Humble (Ubuntu 22.04). The robot uses Cyclone DDS 0.10.2, so you must run rmw_cyclonedds_cpp with a matching version. On Foxy that means building Cyclone DDS from source.
For simulation, unitree_mujoco runs the same SDK interface against MuJoCo, and MuJoCo Menagerie carries Go2, G1 and H1 models.
Pain points: the ROS 2 package targets Foxy and Humble rather than Jazzy or Lyrical, and the SDK’s prebuilt environment is Ubuntu 20.04. unitree_mujoco supports only low-level messages (LowCmd, LowState, SportModeState), so high-level sport commands cannot be tested in it.
Migration notes
- Middleware. Unitree’s DDS domain is not a normal ROS 2 graph. Use Cyclone DDS, match the version, and keep the robot’s network interface separate from other ROS 2 traffic.
- Frames. Check the IMU and body frame conventions in the SDK headers against REP 103 (x forward, y left, z up) before you feed odometry to Nav2.
- Sim to robot. Policies trained in Isaac Lab or MuJoCo Playground on Menagerie models need joint ordering, PD gains and action scaling matched to the SDK’s low-level command. Write that mapping once and test it on a stand before the robot touches the floor.
- From Spot. Boston Dynamics offers high-level services first. Unitree EDU gives you joint torques and positions, which means your code is now responsible for balance.
Watch for
- Security. In September 2025 researchers disclosed “UniPwn”, a Bluetooth Low Energy flaw in the Wi-Fi setup that gave root access on Go2, B2, G1 and H1 robots and could spread between robots in range, according to IEEE Spectrum. A separate researcher reported undisclosed telemetry streaming to servers in China. Unitree said it had completed most fixes. Keep robots on isolated networks, disable Bluetooth where you can, and update firmware.
- US restrictions. The US Department of Defense added Unitree to its 1260H list of Chinese military companies in June 2026, according to TechCrunch. In July 2026 the FCC stopped authorising new Chinese-made humanoids and robot dogs, with existing approvals unaffected, according to Al Jazeera. Universities and contractors with US government funding should check their procurement rules before buying.
- Feature tiers. Low-level access, compute modules and longer warranties are on EDU versions only. Confirm the exact version before ordering.
- Safety. Low-level control on a 15 kg quadruped or 35 kg humanoid can injure people. Use a gantry or harness and an emergency stop during development.