Viewed as a turning point in robotics, X1 could free humans to focus on creativity and care while robots handle dangerous or physically demanding tasks.

Projections highlight applications in disaster response, urban search, autonomous logistics on complex terrain, infrastructure inspection, and military surveillance, with a emphasis on safety and trusted control systems.

Military uses are contemplated, including surveillance and rescue, though the work remains exploratory in practical terms.

The project took three years to integrate multiple movement modes into one platform, addressing balance and center-of-gravity challenges.

Ongoing media and expert commentary emphasize safety, trust, and everyday impact, inviting reader engagement on future implications.

Technical components include the Unitree G1 platform, the M4 drone, onboard AI and sensor suite for obstacle avoidance and mission decisions, and the Saluki flight controller integrated by TII.

Demonstrations show precise, coordinated transitions between walking, flying, and driving in real-world-like environments, signaling practicality of multi-modal mobility on varied terrains.

Author background: Sylvain Biget, a tech journalist for Futura specializing in drones, robotics, and AI.

The collaboration spans Caltech’s CAST lab, Caltech’s Gharib Lab, the Technology Innovation Institute, and Northeastern University, leveraging AI, physics modeling, and sensor fusion to enable autonomous adaptation and learning from movement.

Engineering cooperation crosses continents, combining Caltech’s leadership in bio-inspired flight and morphing, TII’s autonomous sensing and secure onboard flight controller, and Northeastern’s morphing design research.

Caltech and partners unveil X1, a multimodal humanoid-drone-vehicle robot that can walk, fly, and roll autonomously within a single system, demonstrated by a lab-wide route that includes stairs and a drone deployment from its back.

X1 blends a modified Unitree G1 humanoid with a custom-built M4 drone, which switches between quadcopter and ground modes by using its propeller guards as wheels for seamless transitions.