The modified humanoid robot Unitree G1 successfully performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a live subject, marking the first instance where a general-purpose humanoid completed an operation in real-world conditions.
The modified humanoid robot Unitree G1 successfully performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a live subject, marking the first instance where a general-purpose humanoid completed an operation in real-world conditions.
According to a study published on July 8 in the journal Nature, a 1.5-meter, 27-kilogram general-purpose humanoid robot performed a gallbladder removal operation on a live subject. This robot, nicknamed Surgie and built on the Unitree G1 chassis, represents the first case of live surgery performed by a general-purpose humanoid.
A team of researchers from UC San Diego conducted two surgical interventions. The first was performed using a single Surgie robot, controlled by a surgeon with assistance from bedside personnel. The second intervention involved two Surgie robots working side-by-side as a robotic surgical team. Neither procedure required transitioning to traditional laparoscopy or open surgery.
The robot was adapted with a special mounting bracket that allowed its arms to grip standard commercial laparoscopic instruments from LivsMed of South Korea. The surgeon controlled the robot via a stereoscopic headset and master manipulators. The teleoperation framework was developed by the first author, Lucas Zekay Liang, a PhD student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UCSD, in Michael Ip's lab.
During dry lab testing, comparing Surgie with the da Vinci research system, the humanoid robot demonstrated a weighted error of 4.53 versus 4.59 for dVRK, showing comparable accuracy. However, the procedure completion time was significantly slower, with a system latency of about 156 milliseconds. During the live operation, the main stages of the procedure, including tissue incision and gallbladder separation, progressed efficiently for the early stage system, but the procedure was repeatedly interrupted by pauses exceeding 3 minutes due to virtual center of motion drift caused by animal respiration and slight base displacement of the robot.
The significance of Surgie lies in it being a 27 kg general-purpose platform that costs significantly less than the 816 kg da Vinci system, which costs $1.8–2.5 million and requires specialized operating room modification. It is estimated that approximately 67% of the world's population lacks access to basic surgical services. A lightweight humanoid capable of entering any operating room and working alongside surgeons solves a fundamentally different problem than specialized surgical robots.
Furthermore, when not used for surgery, the robot functions as a versatile platform capable of moving equipment, performing facility cleaning, and carrying out other auxiliary tasks in the hospital. The study notes persistent significant drawbacks, including limited range of motion, insufficient output power, frequent calibration drift, lack of a sterile solution, and zero autonomy, as the system is fully remotely controlled. Nevertheless, researchers draw a parallel with the first cholecystectomy using da Vinci in 1997, which took hours compared to 30 minutes today.
The Chinese humanoid robotics industry reached a critical point in July 2026 when two leading companies chose radically different commercialization strategies that could define the future development of the sector for many years.
Unitree Robotics, based in Hangzhou and initially focused on quadrupeds, quickly received approval for an IPO on the STAR Market, raising over $5.9 billion. The company aims to deliver 20,000 humanoid robots annually this year. Their G1 robot, priced from $13,500, caused significant resonance in the global industry.
Thanks to over 30 degrees of freedom, autonomous navigation, and complex grasping capabilities, the G1 is significantly cheaper than competitors like Boston Dynamics Atlas (estimated in the millions per unit) and Tesla Optimus. Unitree's cost advantage stems from its experience as a global leader in quadruped robot manufacturing. By shipping tens of thousands of robotic dogs worldwide, Unitree has optimized Chinese supply chains for reducers, high-density brushless motors, micro-hydraulic systems, and sensors over several generations.
The $5.9 billion from the IPO will be directed towards expanding their superfactory in the Yangtze River Delta and developing their fundamental embodied world-vision-language-action model, WVLA 2.0.
In contrast, UBTECH introduced its YouWorld U1 companion series, distinguished by hyperrealism. The U1 model overcomes the uncanny valley effect through 1:1 scale reproduction of skin pores and subcutaneous blood vessels, and is managed by emotional large language models. At a premium price approaching $140,000, the U1 has already gathered over 13,000 orders from affluent buyers in just a few days.
UBTECH represents a path toward a high-end, emotionally intelligent companion focused on consumer relationships rather than industrial performance.
These two strategies reflect a fundamental contradiction in the commercialization of embodied AI. Unitree follows a Fordist approach, relentlessly lowering costs through supply chain mastery to make humanoid robots accessible for factories, warehouses, and eventually homes. UBTECH, conversely, promotes a concept reminiscent of the Western world, offering ultra-realistic emotional companions to those who can afford them, betting that the emotional connection between human and robot justifies the high price.
Both Chinese companies benefit from the integrated national supply chain that provides motors, sensors, batteries, and computing hardware. The parallel experiments of these companies will provide crucial data on whether the scaling of robotics will depend on price reduction or on the creation of emotional value.
