AI meets tradition: humanoid robots perform yanko dance in China

Last updated:February 7, 2025, 19:23 IST

What also grabbed the eyeball was that the robot played traditional Yanko dances, including handkerchief throwing and catching, captivating the audience.

The dance performance was held at the Spring Festival Gala. (Photo credit: x)

As robots are rapidly integrated into various aspects of modern life, China is taking innovation a step further by introducing dance robots. The country brings global attention to the recent Spring Festival Gala, one of the most viewed television events in the world, by showing off the groundbreaking sights of robots digging trenches with props in hand. I’m collecting them. For everyone’s entertainment, the event saw a synchronous dance performance featuring 16 humanoid Unitree H1 robots for the first time.

The robot, moving seamlessly in unison with the human dancers, performed complex choreography with amazing ease. What grabbed the eyeballs even further was the robot playing traditional Yanko dances, including handkerchief throwing and catching, captivating the audience. This unprecedented behavior attracted the attention of viewers and caused both praise and anxiety.

Unitree Robotics, the company behind the innovation, excitedly posted on X (formerly Twitter) about their creation. They write: hello everyone. Let’s introduce ourselves again. I’m untree h1 ‘fuxi’. I am now a comedian at the Spring Festival Gala and hope to bring joy to everyone. Push boundaries every day and shape the future together. ”

“A little surprise: the handkerchief can not only spin, but it can also be discarded and automatically returned to its position,” the company added.

Since it was shared, the clip has attracted viewers’ attention and has kept them split. While some view it as a breakthrough in AI and robotics, the majority of users have found that robotic performance is unstable. They expressed concern and argued that dance is essentially a human art form with expressions that robots cannot truly replicate.

Read the comment “The future is here and it’s hilarious!”

Another wrote: Exciting and scary! ”

“I don’t know why, but it’s a bit scary to see images of robots (automata?) continuing to dance,” the user said.

The account states: It’s wild that they’re watching. ”

“The questions remain unanswered. How do you tell the H1 robot to do these movements? Are they given verbally or text input commands via remote, or coding Are these steps pre-programmed through? We asked the user.

Another one is, “This is impressive. I look forward to what you all can do in two years.”

“Um…thank you. There’s a reason for some boundaries. This creeps me up,” another added.

Despite the divergent responses from online audiences, the clip was raked over 4.4 million viewers.

Position:

Delhi, India, India