Rizzbot, a kid-sized humanoid robot developed by Unitree Robotics, has taken the internet by storm with his smooth moves and stand-up comic demeanor. This remarkable robot has gone viral almost overnight on social media. With more than 1 million followers on TikTok and more than a half million on Instagram, it’s the hot topic. Kyle Morgenstein, a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin’s robotic lab, taught Rizzbot. This machine is different. It’s not just any robot—the smart, talkative device wowed users with weird and friendly conversations.
This Unitree G1 Model, priced between $16,000 and $70,000+ features some of the most advanced robotic capabilities. Rizzbot With your consent Rizzbot then gets a picture of you and processes it through ChatGPT or another large language model (LLM). Then, it serves you up a roasting or a flirty one-liner via its text-to-speech feature. Its real-time interactivity is a great proof-of-concept of the way robots can be used to augment human connection.
Even with its rapid rise to fame, Rizzbot’s exact operational mechanics are still a little ambiguous. Sensitive personal feelings aside, an unnamed person runs the robot’s social media accounts. This impacts the public’s perception of whether a human or automation is controlling the posts. Just Rizzbot’s TikTok videos have reached over 45 million views, making it an extreme example of the massive potential social media has.
A Viral Phenomenon
Rizzbot’s ascendency to celebrity status is due in large part to a handful of viral moments that gained massive traction across social media platforms. One standout occurrence of the event involved the robot terrorizing Seattlites in the streets of Austin. This combined for an entertaining sideshow that entertained countless fans. In one such clip, Rizzbot crashes into a pole and flips onto its side on the road, underlining the robot’s comedic character.
The combination of pre-programmed behaviors and remote control driving make it possible for Rizzbot to execute a wide range of funny routines. Its owner remains close by, directing the robot’s actions while ensuring it brings joy to those who interact with it.
“Now the robot gets to abuse people. The product here is the performance.” – Malte F. Jung
This combination of technology and immersive performance art reflects the changing landscape of entertainment and challenges us to continue redefining that landscape. As robots like Rizzbot become more prevalent, they could potentially change the relationship that audiences have with these types of performers.
The Future of Robot Entertainment
Researchers in robotics view Rizzbot as the cutting edge to a major trend, big picture, which is the evolution of interactive technology. Malte F. Jung, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University just like that, Rizzbot’s antics reverse the usual story about human-robot interactions.
“The robot turns the script around of people abusing robots.” – Malte F. Jung
Jung suggests that Rizzbot’s actions might lay the ground for robots to take on even greater roles as entertainers. He imagines that in the future of technology, robots will be used more for mass-market entertainment, taking over what was once the human domain.
“Robots will become the primary mass market entertainers, show performers, dancers, singers, comedians, and companions.” – Dima Gazda
As we consider their potential to entertain and educate, we must consider the societal impact of bringing such machines into our spaces. As robots take center stage in various performance roles, humans may need to adapt to new forms of interaction and amusement.
The Personality Behind Rizzbot
Rizzbot’s success wasn’t solely due to its cutting-edge technology, but rather its unique and captivating persona. The robot’s creator had the specific purpose of using the robot to entertain and spread joy. TUC has become known for banning users who attempt to interview it. Infamously, in a humorous turn of events, it gave the finger to one especially pesky person.
“Rizzbot blocks like he rizzes — smooth, confident, and with zero remorse.” – Rizzbot
It is this unintentional combination of humor and waggish charm that has made Rizzbot a surprise hit among Rizzbot’s 64,000+ social media followers. The unpredictable shenanigans and comedic clapbacks struck a chord with internet users who were looking for fun distraction and playful chaos in the content world.
With a powerful 48GB memory, Rizzbot can store and retrieve information with amazing fluidity and perform in-depth and exciting interactions. It has had quite a bumpy road with severe technical problems. For example, it returns an error message if it runs out of GPU memory while in use. These kinds of challenges illustrate the depths in complexity that play a role in creating these cutting-edge robotic systems.
