--- title: The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution | TIME description: The upshot of Wang’s creative fervor is the GD01, which Unitree bills as the world’s first mass-produced, transformable mecha robot. Standing 9 ft. tall and weighing half a ton, it can transport a pilot in its torso-mounted cockpit, walk on either two legs or four, and wield fists powerful enough to knock down walls. Heavy-duty mechanical hinges connect titanium-alloy limbs to a protective casing of carbon fiber, enabling smooth, deliberate strides on brutish red legs. Wang showed off the GD01 exclusively to TIME as part of his first international media interview, revealing that beyond mixed martial arts, he took a dash of inspiration from James Cameron: “We actually drew some references from a similar robot featured in Avatar.” canonical: https://time.com/video/i3YBFPmb/ og:title: The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution og:description: The upshot of Wang’s creative fervor is the GD01, which Unitree bills as the world’s first mass-produced, transformable mecha robot. Standing 9 ft. tall and weighing half a ton, it can transport a pilot in its torso-mounted cockpit, walk on either two legs or four, and wield fists powerful enough to knock down walls. Heavy-duty mechanical hinges connect titanium-alloy limbs to a protective casing of carbon fiber, enabling smooth, deliberate strides on brutish red legs. Wang showed off the GD01 exclusively to TIME as part of his first international media interview, revealing that beyond mixed martial arts, he took a dash of inspiration from James Cameron: “We actually drew some references from a similar robot featured in Avatar.” og:url: https://time.com/video/i3YBFPmb/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i3YBFPmb/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution twitter:description: The upshot of Wang’s creative fervor is the GD01, which Unitree bills as the world’s first mass-produced, transformable mecha robot. Standing 9 ft. tall and weighing half a ton, it can transport a pilot in its torso-mounted cockpit, walk on either two legs or four, and wield fists powerful enough to knock down walls. Heavy-duty mechanical hinges connect titanium-alloy limbs to a protective casing of carbon fiber, enabling smooth, deliberate strides on brutish red legs. Wang showed off the GD01 exclusively to TIME as part of his first international media interview, revealing that beyond mixed martial arts, he took a dash of inspiration from James Cameron: “We actually drew some references from a similar robot featured in Avatar.” twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i3YBFPmb/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * World # The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution ## Video: The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution [Watch (HLS stream): The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i3YBFPmb.m3u8) (10:15)  _Published 2026-08-14. The upshot of Wang’s creative fervor is the GD01, which Unitree bills as the world’s first mass-produced, transformable mecha robot. Standing 9 ft. tall and weighing half a ton, it can transport a pilot in its torso-mounted cockpit, walk on either two legs or four, and wield fists powerful enough to knock down walls. Heavy-duty mechanical hinges connect titanium-alloy limbs to a protective casing of carbon fiber, enabling smooth, deliberate strides on brutish red legs. Wang showed off the GD01 exclusively to TIME as part of his first international media interview, revealing that beyond mixed martial arts, he took a dash of inspiration from James Cameron: “We actually drew some references from a similar robot featured in Avatar.”_ --- Aug 14, 2026 7:13 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Dolly Parton Reflects on Her Legacy in 2020 TIME Interview](/video/HBGENzJ2/) ### Dolly Parton Reflects on Her Legacy in 2020 TIME Interview [Canadian Prime Minister Carney: A U.S. Trade Deal is Possible, But It Must Respect Canada's Sovereignty](/video/iLUVYACo/) ### Canadian Prime Minister Carney: A U.S. Trade Deal is Possible, But It Must Respect Canada's Sovereignty [CNN Condemns Trump's Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes Following Heated Oval Office Response](/video/rynvkcE5/) ### CNN Condemns Trump's Attacks on Journalist Kristen Holmes Following Heated Oval Office Response --- ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 9-Foot-Tall AI Humanoid Robot at the Center of China’s Robotics Revolution","description":"The upshot of Wang’s creative fervor is the GD01, which Unitree bills as the world’s first mass-produced, transformable mecha robot. Standing 9 ft. tall and weighing half a ton, it can transport a pilot in its torso-mounted cockpit, walk on either two legs or four, and wield fists powerful enough to knock down walls. Heavy-duty mechanical hinges connect titanium-alloy limbs to a protective casing of carbon fiber, enabling smooth, deliberate strides on brutish red legs.\n\nWang showed off the GD01 exclusively to TIME as part of his first international media interview, revealing that beyond mixed martial arts, he took a dash of inspiration from James Cameron: “We actually drew some references from a similar robot featured in Avatar.”","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/i3YBFPmb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-08-14T17:22:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/i3YBFPmb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/i3YBFPmb/","duration":"PT10M15S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/i3YBFPmb/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```