Why did this humanoid robot go nuts and nearly injure its handlers?

An alarming video currently doing the rounds on social media appears to depict one of humanity's worst nightmares seemingly coming true: a killer robot going rogue. The short clip features a humanoid robot malfunctioning, flailing its appendages wildly, and getting almost too close for comfort to two humans working on it.

The robot is believed to be a Unitree H1, a US$90,000 general-purpose humanoid that we've previously seen breaking out dance moves alongside humans, taking the stairs, and pulling off a backflip. It stands 5.9 ft tall (180 cm) and weighs 104 lb (47 kg).

That makes it the size of a full-grown person, but what's scary is that it can muster up a substantial joint torque of 365 lb.ft (360 Nm) for lifting heavy objects. With its arms and legs swinging at high speed, the robot could seriously injure people nearby.

But is this really a terrifying scene from Terminator in real life? Maybe not. There's a bit of context and a technical explanation floating around, but I haven't yet heard back from Unitree officially confirming any of it. Still, it's worth thinking about, so here's what you're possibly looking at in the clip which seems to have first been posted on Reddit last week.

A YouTube channel called 'Chris Wabs' posited that this clip is from a public event where Unitree was set to demonstrate the H1's capabilities. However, you'll notice that the robot was tethered by its head to a stand when it was powered on; this could have affected its balance and sense of orientation.

As such, it's possible the robot may have perceived itself to be falling, and responded with dramatic corrective movements. That's what might have looked like violent flailing.

It's also possible the humans working nearby ran a program on the robot that didn't execute as expected.

The video is certainly unsettling, but that may have a lot to do with the lack of context in which we saw this incident occur. And hey, if a robot can get disoriented just by being made to feel like it's off balance, maybe we don't have to worry about metal-and-AI overlords taking over the planet right away.

A previous clip from February, the authenticity of which I haven't been able to verify, appeared to show a Unitree humanoid at a festival seeming to attack or intimidate attendees, before being restrained by security staff. This one is scary too, but it also raises a question: how do you deescalate a dangerous encounter with a robot?

We've reached out to Unitree to learn more about what might have gone wrong here, and we'll update this post when we hear back.