A peculiar incident unfolded in Macau when a 70-year-old woman vocally confronted a robot, only to be met with an unexpected response. The encounter, which occurred on March 5, has drawn attention to the dynamics of human-robot interactions.
As the woman strolled along Rua Sul do Patane around 9 p.m., she was approached from behind by the Unitree Robotics G-1. Startled, she turned and expressed her frustration in Cantonese, exclaiming, “You’re making my heart race! You’ve got plenty to do, so what’s the point of messing around with this? Are you freaking crazy?” In a surprising twist, the G-1 responded with a playful “raise the roof” gesture, raising both arms.
The incident was captured on video, which later showed police escorting the robot away. Although the G-1 did not physically contact the woman, she was hospitalized for evaluation but was released shortly thereafter.
The Unitree Robotics G-1 is priced at approximately 85,000 yuan in China, with a U.S. listing available through Alibaba for $15,300. This robot is powered by Nvidia Orin chips, capable of achieving up to 100 TOPS, and is equipped with 3D LiDAR depth cameras for environmental scanning. It features 16GB of memory, 2TB of storage, and is powered by a 13-cell 9000mAh battery. However, it is noteworthy that the G-1 weighs 80 pounds and has limited upper body strength, with a maximum arm payload of only 6 pounds.
Following the incident, the police did not cite the robot’s operator, who was nearby testing the unit for promotional purposes related to an education center. This same robot had participated in three promotional activities for the center the previous week and had previously navigated notable locations like the UNESCO World Heritage site Ruins of St. Paul’s and the Cotai Strip, reportedly receiving positive feedback.
The event has prompted police to advise the operator to exercise greater caution when deploying AI in public spaces.
This article was produced by NeonPulse.today using human and AI-assisted editorial processes, based on publicly available information. Content may be edited for clarity and style.
