Business · Wired
You Can Soon Buy a $4,370 Humanoid Robot on AliExpress
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Listing consumer electronics on the internet's large ecommerce marketplaces is a key step in “democratizing” the products, allowing them to be purchased by anyone with a click.
Key facts
- The R1 is 4 feet tall, weighs 50 pounds, and has 26 smart joints
- When it was announced last summer, the starting price of the R1 was 39,900 yuan, or about $5,900
- Meanwhile, robots from Figure AI and Apptronik are hovering around $50,000 per unit
- The price tag for Unitree's own flagship H1 robot approaches $90,000
Summary
The Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics, among the most active robot-makers in the field, is preparing to bring its most affordable model, the Unitree R1, to international markets through Alibaba Group's marketplace. This is not the first time Unitree has used AliExpress as a global storefront. It's as much of a symbolic step before as a commercial one; selling a humanoid robot on a global marketplace positions the product as easily attainable. When it was announced last summer, the starting price of the R1 was 39,900 yuan, or about $5,900.