{"id":"ab13a2d5-f6cb-4821-8496-5b81bad0e95b","slug":"unitree-h1-crane-test-thrash-2025","kind":"property_damage","headline":"Crane-suspended Unitree H1 thrashed during a factory test and toppled nearby equipment","summary":"In viral footage surfacing in early May 2025, a Unitree H1 suspended from a crane/stand began thrashing its limbs without warning, dragged its stand, and knocked a computer and other items to the floor; no injuries. A handler attributed it to running a full-body control policy while the robot's feet were off the ground (an incorrect operating mode). Cap-flags: exact event date undetermined (footage surfaced ~May 1-8 2025); explanation is handler-sourced with no official Unitree statement; root cause could also map to human_operator_error/teleoperation_failure.","occurredAt":"2025-05-01T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"a4951bdc-1216-476d-86d5-3d13688bd134","deploymentId":null,"companyId":"e0eddc78-26bb-43ae-bfc5-422a414ebd99","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"minor","rootCauseCategory":"software_defect","rootCauseDetail":"Crane-suspended H1 flailed limbs unexpectedly, dragging its stand and toppling a computer and other equipment. Handler attribution: a full-body control policy was run while feet were off the ground (wrong operating mode). No injury. Handler-sourced, no official maker statement.","affectedUnitsCount":1,"affectedUnitsBasis":"exact","remediationStatus":"acknowledged","regulatoryAction":"none","regulatoryBody":null,"propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T19:47:29.127Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-24T23:33:41.852Z","model":{"id":"a4951bdc-1216-476d-86d5-3d13688bd134","companyId":"e0eddc78-26bb-43ae-bfc5-422a414ebd99","modelName":"Unitree H1","slug":"unitree-h1","description":"Unitree's full-size bipedal humanoid research platform, standing approximately 1.8 m tall and weighing 47 kg. The H1 achieves a documented maximum running speed of 3.3 m/s (7.4 mph) using proprietary high-torque joints with 360 N-m peak knee torque, and is powered by a quick-swappable 864 Wh lithium-ion battery. The base configuration ships without hands; arms include expandable mounting points for end-effectors. Unitree positions the H1 as a high-performance research platform for universities and enterprise R&D teams, distinct from the smaller and lower-cost G1.","formFactor":"humanoid","industryVertical":null,"environment":null,"maturityStage":"research","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"hands":"none in base config; expandable","height_m":1.8,"dof_total":19,"weight_kg":47,"battery_wh":864,"perception":"3D LiDAR + depth cameras, 360-degree","dof_per_arm":4,"dof_per_leg":5,"max_speed_ms":3.3,"price_usd_approx":90000,"battery_voltage_max":"67.2V","peak_knee_torque_nm":360},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.unitree.com/h1","label":"Unitree — H1","title":"Unitree — H1","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Unitree Robotics","publishedAt":"2026-01-01"},{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/leju-raises-200m-humanoid-production-unitree-unveils-h2-robot/","label":"The Robot Report — Unitree unveils H2","title":"The Robot Report — Unitree unveils H2","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"The Robot Report","publishedAt":"2025-10-25"},{"url":"https://newatlas.com/robotics/unitree-h1-backflip/","label":"Unitree's H1 robot nails a backflip","title":"Unitree's H1 robot nails a backflip","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"New Atlas","publishedAt":"2024-01-18"},{"url":"https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20240314-unitree-h1-world-fastest-humanoid-robot/","title":"Unitree H1 sets fastest-bipedal-humanoid record (3.3 m/s walk)","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"GIGAZINE"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/unitree-world-record-fastest-humanoid-robot","title":"Unitree H1 sets world record as fastest humanoid at 7.38 mph","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202604/1358712.shtml","title":"Unitree H1 hits 10 m/s sprint (company-noted possible measurement error)","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Global Times"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/china-humanoid-robot-reaches-record-sprint","title":"China's humanoid robot nears Usain Bolt-like speed (~10 m/s sprint, corroboration)","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/unitree-robot-exploit","title":"Unitree robot security disclosure (corroborates H1/G1 specs)","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"IEEE Spectrum"},{"url":"https://www.unitree.com/en/h1","label":"Unitree H1 - Official Product Page","title":"Unitree H1 - Official Product Page","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Unitree Robotics (official)","publishedAt":"2023-08-15"}],"aliases":["H1","Unitree H1 / H2"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"keyFacts":[{"label":"Form factor","value":"humanoid"},{"label":"Drive type","value":"bipedal"},{"label":"Tier","value":"full_size_research"},{"label":"Application","value":"research_industrial"}],"createdAt":"2026-05-25T19:13:27.684Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-04T13:07:16.732Z","unitsInFieldClaimed":null,"unitsInFieldVerified":null,"unitsManufacturedClaimed":null,"unitsManufacturedVerified":null,"unitsAsOf":null,"unitsSource":null,"salesModel":null,"priceUndisclosedSince":null,"autonomyClass":null,"autonomyStatement":null,"autonomyStatementSource":null,"demoForensics":null,"exportControlClass":null,"minCommitment":null,"warrantyTerms":null,"serviceModel":null,"productionRateClaimed":null,"productionRateEvidenced":null,"teleopRatioDisclosed":null,"interventionRateDisclosed":null},"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"e0eddc78-26bb-43ae-bfc5-422a414ebd99","name":"Unitree Robotics","slug":"unitree-robotics","description":"Chinese robotics company (Hangzhou; founded 2016 by Wang Xingxing), among the highest-volume humanoid makers globally. This wave-2 entry ADDS the H-series models to the existing Unitree company record. (Company fields preserved from wave 1.)","status":"private","founded":2016,"hq":"Hangzhou, China","fundingTotal":"819000000","type":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/20/unitree-plans-shanghai-ipo-testing-interest-in-humanoid-robots.html","title":"Unitree plans Shanghai STAR Market IPO (Mar 20, 2026)","sourceName":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/unitree-china-humanoid-robot-shanghai-ipo/","title":"Unitree files for about $610M Shanghai IPO (2026)","sourceName":"Rest of World"},{"url":"https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347611/inside-unitrees-landmark-ipo-what-know-about-chinas-humanoid-giant","title":"Inside Unitree's landmark IPO (2026)","sourceName":"South China Morning Post"},{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/unitree-ipo-shows-a-real-hardware-business-the-humanoid-case-is-still-early/","title":"Unitree IPO shows a real hardware business; humanoid case still early (2026)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://technode.com/2025/02/19/unitree-robotics-humanoid-robots-sees-orders-surge-after-spring-festival-gala-performance/","title":"Unitree orders surge after Spring Festival Gala performance (Feb 19, 2025)","sourceName":"TechNode"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/20/china-humanoid-robots-spring-festival-gala-unitree-tesla-ai-race.html","title":"China humanoids go viral at Spring Festival Gala; Unitree in the AI race (Feb 20, 2026)","sourceName":"CNBC"},{"url":"https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343825/kung-fu-somersaults-and-scale-unitree-eyes-20000-robot-output-2026-after-gala","title":"Unitree eyes 20,000-robot output in 2026 after the Gala (2026)","sourceName":"South China Morning Post"},{"url":"https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202604/1358712.shtml","title":"Unitree H1 hits 10 m/s sprint record (Apr 2026)","sourceName":"Global Times"},{"url":"https://thenextweb.com/news/unitree-gd01-mecha-humanoid-robot-ipo","title":"Unitree GD01 mecha humanoid unveiled amid IPO (2026)","sourceName":"The Next Web"},{"url":"https://thestandard.com.hk/innovation/article/329103/Unitree-H1-sets-10ms-global-speed-record","title":"Unitree H1 sets 10 m/s global speed record (2026)","sourceName":"The Standard (HK)"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Robots","value":"G1 (from ~$16,000, most affordable humanoid), H1, R1"},{"label":"Scale","value":"Shipped 5,500+ humanoids in 2025; targeting 10,000-20,000 in 2026"},{"label":"Strategy","value":"Ultra-low-cost; commoditizing humanoid hardware"},{"label":"Funding","value":"Series C-IV; investors incl. Tencent, Alibaba, state capital (figures not publicly confirmed)"},{"label":"IPO","value":"Preparing STAR Market listing, reported ~$7B target"},{"label":"HQ","value":"Hangzhou, China (founded 2016, CEO Wang Xingxing)"},{"label":"wikidata","value":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106369174"},{"label":"wikipedia","value":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitree_Robotics"},{"label":"Hero image candidate","value":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Unitree_G1.jpg (source: Wikimedia Commons, license: CC0 Public Domain)"}],"aliases":["Unitree","宇树科技"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T17:24:18.431Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-08T14:59:22.099Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"80d44dd2-b916-41bc-a374-22e729c556f6","incidentId":"ab13a2d5-f6cb-4821-8496-5b81bad0e95b","url":"https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2025/05/08/ai-robot-attacks-worker-viral-video-shows-unitree-humanoid-going-berserk/90524/","label":"Robotics & Automation News","publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T19:47:29.127Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T19:47:29.127Z"},{"id":"9a71306c-281d-46f1-ac3d-c254b1cf6a89","incidentId":"ab13a2d5-f6cb-4821-8496-5b81bad0e95b","url":"https://interestingengineering.com/culture/humanoid-robot-freaks-out-in-viral-video","label":"Interesting Engineering","publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T19:47:29.127Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T19:47:29.127Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/unitree-h1-crane-test-thrash-2025","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/unitree-h1-crane-test-thrash-2025","headline":"Crane-suspended Unitree H1 thrashed during a factory test and toppled nearby equipment","description":"In viral footage surfacing in early May 2025, a Unitree H1 suspended from a crane/stand began thrashing its limbs without warning, dragged its stand, and knocked a computer and other items to the floor; no injuries. A handler attributed it to running a full-body control policy while the robot's feet were off the ground (an incorrect operating mode). Cap-flags: exact event date undetermined (footage surfaced ~May 1-8 2025); explanation is handler-sourced with no official Unitree statement; root cause could also map to human_operator_error/teleoperation_failure.","identifier":"ab13a2d5-f6cb-4821-8496-5b81bad0e95b","datePublished":"2025-05-01T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"property damage","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":[]}}}