In footage circulating online, a Unitree G1 robot loses balance while performing in front of a crowd in China. As it hits the ground, it uncontrollably thrashes its limbs in all directions, hitting a man in the nose. The man, who appeared to be the robot's operator, had tried to grab the humanoid machine to stop it from tipping over. Later in the video, he can be seen squatting on the ground nursing a bleeding nose.
In the future, a caregiving machine might gently lift an elderly person out of bed in the morning and help them get dressed. A cleaning bot could trundle through a child's room, picking up scattered objects, depositing toys on shelves and tucking away dirty laundry. And in a factory, mechanical hands may assemble a next-generation smartphone from its first fragile component to the finishing touch.