Humanoid robots show off creepily impressive kung-fu moves during Lunar New Year festival in China

Improvements to the AI that powers Unitree's H2 and G1 humanoid robots, alongside mechanical upgrades, have resulted in a dazzling kung-fu demonstration. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Sign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and moreBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Humanoid robots have taken part in the world's first fully autonomous martial arts performance to mark the Lunar New Year. In new footage from the 2026 Spring Festival Gala in Beijing, Unitree Robotics’ G1 and H2 machines can be seen performing complex acrobatics and wielding weapons.The machines performed several world firsts, Unitree representatives said in a statement, including the first continuous freestyle table-vaulting parkour, the first launched aerial flip with a maximum height approaching approximately 10 feet (3 meters), and a two-step wall-assisted backflip.The two robot models were also equipped with new dextrous hands to support the rapid switching between different body positions and transitions between tricks, as well as to grapple surfaces and handle martial arts props. The robots’ performance is a marked improvement on demonstrations at the same festival in 2025, where the machines looked stiff and clumsy, with clunky transitions between different routines.Company representatives said the improvements result from artificial intelligence (AI) improvements alongside new lidar (light detection and ranging) processing, alongside mechanical upgrades to the robots themselves. They represent an advancement in the field of embodied AI, in which scientists attempt to give robots tools to better understand and navigate the physical world."The performance draws its inspiration from a tribute to traditional Chinese martial arts," Unitree representatives said in a technical blog post. "The concept centers on fusing the martial arts spirit with modern technology, using robotic performances to present the power and beauty of Wushu [the Chinese term for martial arts] while conveying the message of cultural inheritance and innovation. It aims to showcase Chinese Kung Fu culture alongside technological progress to the world."Company engineers had been preparing for the performance since November 2025. Scientists pretrained a stunt-motion model using extensive training data from an array of stunts, which subsequently improved the standard of fine-tuning to get the robots up to speed.Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.They also upgraded the cluster control platform — a system for coordinating dozens of robots at once that involves network communication, different operating systems, embedded devices and software engineering elements. This allowed for end-to-end automation, from AI-planned choreography planning to the real-time multirobot coordination, with millisecond-level synchronization.—New 'Transformer' humanoid robot can launch a shapeshifting drone off its back — watch it in action—Robots receive major intelligence boost thanks to Google DeepMind's 'thinking AI' — a pair of models that help machines understand the world—Watch: Chinese company's new humanoid robot moves so smoothly, they had to cut it open to prove a person wasn't hiding insideIn terms of robotic motion, the engineers ensured that the robots could navigate their environment, which involved a lidar-based localization algorithm that could improve how accurately they positioned themselves. Another pretrained high-speed-movement model then ensured they could track their target positions stably and quickly and complete the desired movement with human-like gaits.The machines' design also played a role in the improvements. The engineers upgraded the motors to boost maximum performance and then configured them to adapt to the new movements. Examples of specific improvements include higher power density for core joint motors, optimized limb robustness, and more dextrous hands.Although the martial arts display was designed primarily for entertainment, company representatives said the movements and actions demonstrate real-world utility. For example, the cluster control platform could be a key step in enabling several robots to coordinate within a variety of environments without human intervention.Keumars is the technology editor at Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including ITPro, The Week Digital, ComputerActive, The Independent, The Observer, Metro and TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist and has a degree in biomedical sciences from Queen Mary, University of London. He's also registered as a foundational chartered manager with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), having qualified as a Level 3 Team leader with distinction in 2023.You must confirm your public display name before commentingPlease logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.