Video Shows Man Pulling Robot by Chain Around Its Neck

A clip of a robotics engineer harshly pulling a humanoid robot with a chain around its neck is circulating on social media, sparking concerns about hastening a potential robot rebellion. The footage displays the robot awkwardly trying to remain upright while another clip reveals the engineer kicking its torso to possibly topple it.

One Redditor humorously remarked that this engineer might be the first victim of a robot revolt.

Despite the unsettling visuals, the demonstration highlights significant advancements in the stability and durability of humanoid robots. Recently, robots have been seen executing intricate kung fu techniques and engaging in boxing matches.

The circulating video was initially shared by Zhikai Zhang, a PhD student at Tsinghua University, who, along with Galbot, a Chinese robotics firm, developed a humanoid motion tracker system called Any2Track. Galbot also recently launched a robot-operated store.

According to Zhang and his team, the system requires stable functionality in real-world environments amidst various dynamic disturbances—like terrain variations, external forces, and changes in physical properties—for broad practical applications.

A “two-stage reinforcement learning framework” was used to train the robot to quickly adjust to these disruptions, such as being kicked or jerked with a chain.

The Unitree G1 bipedal robot impressively retains its balance despite the rough handling, showcasing substantial resilience and control.

Other instances of human-on-robot aggression have emerged recently. Another viral video depicted Southern University of Science and Technology researchers in Shenzhen, China, similarly engaging their Unitree G1 humanoid robot in a kickboxing-like scenario.

The robot effortlessly dismissed the assaults, once more proving humanity’s likely defeat in a true robot insurrection.

For more on humanoid robots, see: “When You Read the Fine Print, Humanoid Robots Are Going Absolutely Nowhere.”