Eight robots walked onto one of America's biggest stages — and left the judges speechless. On the evening of June 2 (local time), 26-year-old Wu Yufei from Sichuan took the stage on the popular US show America's Got Talent (AGT) alongside eight Unitree robots. Their human–robot dance performance stunned the judges, who exclaimed "This is crazy!" It earned a standing ovation from the audience and secured unanimous approval to advance. Wu Yufei walked onto the stage alone at first, with the audience unaware of what was coming. As the music began, a group of robots slowly stepped into the center of the stage — leaving viewers with puzzled expressions. NBC described the atmosphere as one of "uneasy curiosity." In present days, a group of robots marching in synchronized formation still carries a faintly unsettling charge. But once the music kicked in, the Unitree robots completely won over the crowd. Set to Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra," the eight Unitree robots and Wu Yufei danced in perfect sync. The choreography was unified and precise, the movements fluid and controlled, and the routine even featured jaw-dropping flips. The robots' accuracy was astonishing — yet it never overshadowed the exceptional skill of the one human on stage. Chinese robotics technology has clearly come a long way: when deployed effectively, robots can command the AGT stage every bit as powerfully as human performers. The judges were visibly stunned. Cameras repeatedly cut to them wide-mouthed, struggling to process what was unfolding on stage. When the performance ended, the audience erupted into cheers. Judge Simon Cowell said: "They don't look human, but they're all staring at me right now. That was nuts, but brilliant. Brilliant." As of June 5, the performance clip on the show's official YouTube channel has surpassed 1 million views and received 31,000 likes. Judge Sofía Vergara was equally effusive. "I've never seen anything like this because usually those robots are like, very weird. These ones have rhythm. It was like watching people dance — and you are amazing; the way you dance is spectacular." In the end, the Unitree robots advanced to the next round with the unanimous approval of every judge on the panel. The Sichuan-born dancer leading the Unitree robots is no ordinary performer. Wu Yufei was born in April 1999 in Guanghan, Sichuan, and studied broadcasting and hosting at Sichuan University of Media and Communications. He competed on Street Dance of China 2 and won the 2018 World Elite Dance Finals championship. Specializing in street dance — particularly "bone-breaking dance" and popping — he is widely regarded as China's foremost performer in bone-breaking dance. The style, also known as contortion-style dance, exploits extreme joint flexibility to create visually striking movements that appear to defy normal human anatomy, giving the illusion of bones actually snapping. America's Got Talent is one of the most popular TV programs in the United States, drawing a large audience since its debut in 2006. Nielsen data shows the previous season averaged nearly 6 million viewers per episode. For many ordinary Americans, this Unitree appearance was their first close-up look at China's humanoid robotics technology. The virality was instant. After the broadcast, related clips spread rapidly across social media. As of June 5, the performance video on the show's official YouTube channel had surpassed 1 million views and received 31,000 likes. Washington's response, however, was swift and hostile. Just one day after the Unitree robots appeared on the show, three US lawmakers jointly introduced the bipartisan "Guarding Against Adversarial Robot Domination Act" (GUARD Act), proposing to ban Chinese robots from entering the US market. Unitree Robotics is already building its global footprint. According to the South China Morning Post, the company currently sells humanoid robots overseas via Alibaba's AliExpress platform, with North America, Europe, and Japan as key expansion markets. On June 1, Unitree also announced a partnership with NVIDIA to launch the Isaac GR00T humanoid robot reference platform — based on Unitree's H2 robot — targeting universities and research institutions. Kyle Chan, a China technology researcher at the Brookings Institution, believes the AGT appearance was likely a calculated move to build brand visibility against mounting US government scrutiny. "Washington often blocks Chinese tech products that are actually popular with the American public, such as DJI drones and TikTok," he said. The reality is that Unitree is playing the same game its predecessors did — winning hearts before regulators move in. But the road ahead is not without obstacles. Shanghai-based tech consultant Lu Shengyun cautioned that while the performance may impress first-time viewers of Chinese humanoid robots, Chinese robotics firms still face real challenges in overseas expansion. These include limited application scenarios, insufficient data resources, and a lack of overseas partners and integrators capable of providing localized validation, maintenance, and calibration services. Back in Washington, the political accusations are escalating. John Moolenaar, Chairman of the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and a Republican congressman, has accused Chinese robots of posing a "national security threat" to the United States. He has even publicly singled out Unitree Robotics, claiming that Chinese companies are exploring the "weaponization of humanoid robots."

Source: bastillepost.com

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