China outs Nvidia-powered AS2-W quad-wheel 'robot wolf', just weeks after its armed version surfaced in joint military drills in Mongolia

China unveils rugged AS2-W robotic platform with advanced onboard artificial intelligence Robot wolf climbs steep slopes while carrying heavy operational payloads AS2-W combines wheeled mobility with advanced terrain handling capabilities Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled its new AS2-W,

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>China unveils rugged AS2-W robotic platform with advanced onboard artificial intelligence</strong></li><li><strong>Robot wolf climbs steep slopes while carrying heavy operational payloads</strong></li><li><strong>AS2-W combines wheeled mobility with advanced terrain handling capabilities</strong></li></ul><p>Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled its new AS2-W, an uncrewed ground vehicle on its official website.</p><p>The four-wheeled vehicle weighs 25 kg and can carry a stationary payload of up to 150 kg while sitting still.</p><p>It travels roughly 30 km on a single charge without cargo, or about 25 km carrying up to 16 kg.</p><h2 id="sensors-and-mobility-built-for-rough-terrain">Sensors and mobility built for rough terrain</h2><p>According to <a href="https://www.unitree.com/As2-W" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Unitree</a>, the AS2-W can climb obstacles reaching 80 cm high while traversing slopes of up to 45° without manual intervention.</p><p>The robot reaches speeds exceeding 6 m/s using industrial-grade joint modules delivering approximately 95 N·m of peak joint torque.</p><p>Unitree also says the platform uses a 648 Wh, 15,000 mAh battery capable of providing more than three hours of unloaded operation.</p><p>Its equipment includes industrial-grade 64- to 128-line LiDAR, an HD camera, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, 4G connectivity, microphones, speakers, and front lighting.</p><p>The AS2-W supports an IP54 dust and water resistance rating and is designed to operate in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 55°C.</p><p>Unitree also provides developer software tools, application programming interfaces, and support for artificial intelligence models enabling autonomous interaction and decision-making.</p><p>A demonstration video released by the company shows the robot navigating rocky slopes without losing its footing throughout the test.</p><p>The same footage shows the machine maintaining full mobility even after falling from elevated platforms during separate testing runs later.</p><p>Unitree describes the AS2-W as running a high-performance AI module capable of 150 TOPS, or trillion operations per second, onboard.</p><p>The company has not specified whether that <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/best-processors">processor</a> is actually manufactured by Nvidia, despite widespread reports describing it that way.</p><p>Its ISS 3.0 autonomous navigation system is designed to provide centimetre-level positioning accuracy during movement through complex operating environments.</p><h2 id="military-interest-follows-the-armed-version-sighting">Military interest follows the armed version sighting</h2><p>The People's Liberation Army has already shown interest in the AS2-W following its appearance during the Chinese-Mongolian Steppe Partner 2026 joint military exercise.</p><p>Chinese military reports indicated similar robotic platforms performed reconnaissance and fire support tasks during the exercise alongside conventional military units.</p><p>The public unveiling followed those exercises, although Unitree's commercial announcement focused primarily on the platform's technical characteristics rather than operational deployment.</p><p>The vehicle's onboard artificial intelligence enables object processing directly on the platform, potentially reducing delays associated with transmitting information to remote operators.</p><p>Its combination of autonomous navigation, onboard computing, and off-road mobility reflects broader interest in unmanned ground vehicles across several defence programmes worldwide.</p><p>However, the company has not disclosed the full operational limitations, endurance under sustained military use, or performance while carrying heavier payloads.</p><p>Unitree's YouTube video of this robot comes with the disclaimer, "Please, everyone be sure to use the robot in a friendly and safe manner."</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>