Unitree Go2 and B2 robot dogs are four-legged machines that go where wheels cannot: stairs, gravel, roots, cable trays. The Go2 costs from $1,600 and is used for learning and shows; the industrial B2 carries sensors through plants, tunnels and substations. For business, it means inspecting sites where it is awkward or dangerous for people to go; for a family, a hands-on way into programming.
How it works
Each leg has three motors: two in the “hip” — forward-and-back and sideways — and one that bends the knee. Together, twelve motors give walking, running, jumping and climbing stairs. A motor with a gearbox responds in fractions of a second and senses the load, so the robot notices that a paw has hit a stone and adjusts its step on the move.
The robot sees its surroundings with lidar and cameras. The lidar sweeps a laser beam and builds a three-dimensional map: where the wall, the step, the hole is. Cameras add color and detail, and the gyroscope and accelerometer report at every instant how the body is tilted. From all this, the robot chooses where to place each paw — and calmly climbs stairs in front of which a wheeled cart would simply stop.
Such robots learn to walk in simulation: thousands of virtual dogs fall on virtual stairs, and the neural network remembers what works. The Go2 is controlled with a remote or from an app, and the EDU versions are open to your own code — students write programs for them. The industrial B2 is bigger and stronger: it is fitted with sensors for the task — a thermal camera, for example — and sent along an inspection route.
Where it already works
- Universities and robotics schools — Go2 EDU for courses and research
- Shows and events — tricks, dances and the robot walking among guests
- Plants, tunnels and substations — the B2 carries sensors along inspection routes
- Families — a robot dog as a teenager’s way into programming
What to consider
- Dual-use equipment: AbsoTech does not sell robot dogs to security-force or defense customers
- Prices — from $1,600 for the Go2 Air to $5,490 for the EDU+, plus $399–1,000 for shipping
- For your own code, compare what each version can do: the Go2 Air and EDU+ differ in more than price
- The B2 is sold per project: price, sensors and inspection route are calculated for the specific site