Chinese robot maker Unitree has shown off its next quadripedal robot dog — and it's a doozy.

The Unitree A2 Stellar Explorer, advertised as being "lighter, stronger, and faster," can perform some impressive stunts, from front flips and traversing extreme environments. In fact, it can even hold up the weight of an adult man riding it like a bizarre four-legged skateboard.

As seen in a new promotional video, the A2 effortlessly holds up a 220-pound man who climbs onto its back. Even jumping up and down on the quadruped's back, ollie style, doesn't cause its spindly legs to buckle. It's unclear if you can cruise around on the thing Tony Hawk-style, but the futuristic offering might be the closest real-world offering we've seen yet to Kawasaki's demo of a conceptual robot that you can ride like a horse.

To underscore the bot's rugged construction, one clip even shows it crashing through a pane of glass.

It's an impressive demo, highlighting how far the tech has come in just a few years. Unitree, in particular, has charged ahead in developing bipedal humanoid robots, while simultaneously bringing down their price significantly. A humanoid G1 can be bought for as little as $16,000, while an entry-level, four-legged Unitree Go goes for as little as $5,000.

But while Unitree has yet to release a price for its 81-pound Stellar Explorer model, it's likely going to cost a whole lot more than that.

The aluminum and plastic robot dog has some impressive specs, including a LiDAR sensor system, a high-performance CPU, and a battery that allows it to continuously walk for five hours without a load, and three hours with a 50-pound load, covering roughly 12.4 and 7.7 miles, respectively.

Thanks to a sophisticated, industrial-grade motor system, it can tackle 45-degree slopes with ease. The company is even offering an optional "wheel-leg" package that allows it to roll around with built-in roller blades.

In short, it sure looks like Boston Dynamics' Spot Mini robot dog is getting some serious competition from China.

More on Unitree: We Must Admit That This Video of Two Small Robots Punching Each Other With Boxing Gloves Is Pretty Awesome


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