Buying a Robot

My first step in the mission to get robots to do chores is to actually buy a robot. This proved more difficult that it should have. I started by doing the research. Here’s the grid I compiled of the companies that have any kind of product in the humanoid robot space.

Humanoid Robots

_{I’ll keep this grid updated for you all on the website, so when some of these products become more available the grid will update. If you are a representative of one of the above companies and have updated availability info contact us here.}

Robot USA is a no-go right now

What I learned was that there is mostly not an easy way to buy them, and most companies are not selling them directly to consumers. If you want a robot in your home that’s not made in china, you have no options right now. Bummer. I’m excited about the robots from Figure.ai and from 1x but if you want to give someone American currency and get a robot in return Unitree is your only option.

I’m am, however, not easily deterred. I filled out a bunch of contact forms to get more answers, but the only company that had a working ‘buy button’ on their website was Unitree robotics (or a reseller of Unitree). Basically there’s one vendor right now, and it’s in China, and I’m on this journey in the middle of a trade war with China. Fun!

Chatting with Unitree Robotics

I started an email thread with a nice person named Lin from Unitree Robotics. Lin is handling my pre-sales questions and she sends me a price list and a brochure (you can download both from our website here).

I find out that I can order the robot from them, but that if I order the version that is $16,000, the G1, I can’t program it and it has flat hands. That means it can dance, but it can’t hold stuff. Holding stuff is a key feature of the ability to do household chores, so a $16k robot will not cut it. I need the G1 EDU (in America the education versions are usually cheaper for students, but this is not the case with Chinese robots where the EDU version is more expensive for commercial use).

Robostore a Long-island Reseller of Robots

Lin doesn’t get back to me for a few days so I google where else I can get these robots. Turns out there’s a reseller called Robostore. Robostore has a website, and I browse around a bit and get excited. I add like 70-80 grand worth of robots to cart, and promptly lose my nerve. That’s a ton of money and I decide to think about it for a few days. A few days later, I get a voicemail from Kamil at Robostore. He offers to talk me through my options on robot purchase. I call him back, and he picks right up. I talk to Kamil for about 15 minutes and he’s super helpful. He tells me that Robostore is a reseller for Unitree, and they are based right here on the east coast in Long Island, NY. He tells me that usually they have robots in the warehouse, but that they can’t keep up with demand so they are shipping directly from China for current orders. I’m a salesman, and I appreciate a sell job, but I’m not sure I buy it.

Kamil lets me know that if I want to a robot with hands and opposable thumbs, that I can also program it’s going to cost me $74,000. He gives me a warning that I need to know what an API is (I do) and how to use Github (again, I do) and how to program in Python or C++ (meh) in order to make the robot do the things that I want. I appreciate his concern, but I’m pumped right now, and I barely care. I’ll figure out these details later I just want a robot in my house right now. I don’t tell Kamil that because I’m trying to play hardball here, but that’s the truth.

Where do we stand?

After all that research I have 2 options to buy essentially the same product. I can buy the Unitree G1 EDU Ultimate A Robotic Humanoid (U3) from Robostore in Long Island for $74,000 OR I can buy it directly from Unitree for…. well Lin never got me an exact price with shipping and tariffs and all that.

However, Lin does invite me to Boston to a conference to see all the robots. I’m thinking I’ll go even though its crazy. I’ll send you all robot videos from Boston into your email. Wouldn’t that be cool?