Chinese Unitree Founder Drew on US-Funded Robot Research

U.S. defense agencies funded openly published research by American universities that advanced electric quadruped robots, with Unitree founder Wang Xingxing later citing the research while developing China’s XDog, a precursor to the B1 robot used by the Chinese military.

Wang’s 2016 master’s thesis at Shanghai University discussed design rules developed by MIT’s Biomimetic Robotics Lab and cited direct-drive robot research from the University of Pennsylvania that received U.S. Army support.

The thesis also listed military reconnaissance and terrain survey among possible uses for quadruped robots.

Eight years later, Chinese state media CCTV reported that Chinese troops operated a B1 quadruped during the China–Cambodia Golden Dragon 2024 exercise. A serviceman said it could move ahead of troops for reconnaissance and conduct an assault after detecting an enemy.

The Pentagon placed Unitree on its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies in June, prohibiting the U.S. military from purchasing its products.

In 2023 and 2024, the Army approved nonavailability waivers for purchasing Unitree quadruped robots after finding domestic offers insufficient to meet the requirement. The waivers have since expired.

Drawing on Open US Research

Wang developed XDog while a graduate student in Shanghai. His thesis says the project received support from China’s National Natural Science Foundation.

The design rules proposed by MIT that were discussed by Wang include high force and torque density, low transmission impedance, low leg inertia, and high response bandwidth.

He said his work supplemented MIT’s rules with additional criteria involving leg spacing, linkage structure, leg arrangement, stability, and stepping frequency.

The bibliography cites multiple papers and theses on MIT’s Cheetah robot. It also cites two versions of “Design Principles for a Family of Direct-Drive Legged Robots” by University of Pennsylvania researchers Gavin Kenneally, Avik De, and Daniel Koditschek.

The Penn researchers’ paper describes a family of direct-drive legged robots that included the Minitaur. The authors said the research received support in part from the Army Research Laboratory and General Dynamics Robotics Systems in the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance.

Wang’s thesis listed reconnaissance and terrain survey among potential military applications, alongside civilian services and scientific research. Its English abstract also identified defense and security as potential fields of use.

The thesis lists a May 2015 patent for a small electric biomimetic quadruped, with Wang among the inventors, as part of his graduate school work.

US-Funded Research Reaches the Market

At MIT, the Cheetah program received support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program.

An MIT paper on Cheetah actuator design says DARPA sponsored the research, which examined high-torque electric motors with relatively low transmission impedance and used motor current to estimate joint forces.

Penn’s direct-drive work received separate Army support.

The Army Research Laboratory told The Epoch Times that the Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance was “open research” conducted from 2010 to 2020 to advance fundamental work in perception, intelligent control, human-robot interaction, and mobility.

“That research strengthened the broader U.S. robotics ecosystem by bringing together Army, industry, and academic expertise, developing technical talent, and informing subsequent work across government and the private sector,” the Army Research Laboratory said.

Kenneally and De later co-founded Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics. The U.S. Air Force in 2021 announced it was testing the company’s Vision 60 quadruped, while subsequent federal Small Business Innovation Research awards funded military adaptations of the platform.

Boston Dynamics developed a separate line of government-supported legged robots. DARPA’s Legged Squad Support System, or LS3, was designed to carry equipment alongside Marines and soldiers. In 2020, Boston Dynamics brought its electric Spot quadruped to market.

Unitree Expands Production

Unitree sold 23,037 quadruped robots in 2025, bringing its 2023–2025 total to 33,294, according to its stock-market filings. It also shipped 5,511 humanoid robots in 2025.

A May filing by IPO sponsor CITIC Securities reported Unitree’s 2025 revenue at 1.70 billion yuan ($255 million).

Unitree raised about 6.1 billion yuan ($915 million) in gross proceeds from its Shanghai IPO before its Aug. 19 market debut.

The IPO sponsor cautioned that large-scale commercial use of humanoid robots remains uncertain, citing risks involving technology, production costs, market demand, and large-scale deployment.

B1 Appears in PLA Training

In May 2024, Chinese state media CCTV reported on robot dogs used during the China–Cambodia Golden Dragon exercise.

One smaller robot inspected obstacles and transmitted reconnaissance images to commanders.

CCTV described another robot dog weighing more than 110 pounds with an automatic rifle mounted on it. During a simulated urban assault, the robot entered a building after troops breached it and engaged targets.

Chinese serviceman Chen Wei then identified the quadruped he was operating as a B1, saying it could go ahead of troops for reconnaissance and conduct fire attacks after finding an enemy. B1 is an industrial quadruped sold by Unitree.

A Cambodian officer inspects drones and a machine-gun-equipped robot battle “dog” that are displayed for Chinese soldiers during a joint drill at a military police base in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia, on May 16, 2024. Tang Chhin Sothytang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images

Unitree told the Financial Times in 2024 that its products were made for civilian use, that it was not involved in deploying them for military purposes, and that it had no contractual or business relationship with military-related parties.

Public records reviewed by The Epoch Times do not identify how the B1 reached China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) or who added the weapon and other military equipment.

Pentagon Designates Unitree

When the Pentagon placed Hangzhou Yushu Technology Co., Ltd., or Unitree, on its Section 1260H list in June, it said Unitree is indirectly owned by and indirectly affiliated with China’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

The U.S. Department of War also classified Unitree as a military-civil fusion contributor, citing Chinese government assistance connected to the company’s designation as a national-level “Little Giant” elite company.

The Pentagon’s published determination does not identify the ownership records underlying its Section 1260H finding or specify the government assistance behind its Little Giant finding.

Unitree’s filings disclose government grants and investments by state-linked funds.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions from The Epoch Times seeking records behind its findings on Unitree.

Unitree did not respond to questions about its earlier denial of military sales, how the B1 used during Golden Dragon 2024 reached the PLA, or whether it disputes the Pentagon’s designation.

On Aug. 17, the Pentagon ordered 30 U.S. academic institutions to review specified academic, financial, and research relationships involving foreign entities of concern. The order focuses on institutional relationships and research collaborations. It does not address the downstream use of unrestricted research after publication.