Unitree R1
- Height
- 121 cm
- Mass
- 25 kg
- Freedom
- 26 DOF
- Runtime
- 60 min*
*Hot-swap batteries. We bring spares, so it doesn’t stop.
Crewed humanoid deployments Huntsville & New York — booking nationwide
Every R1 arrives with
the person who flies it.
We rent Unitree R1 humanoid robots for trade shows, brand activations, launches, and events. The robot never ships alone. A certified robot captain travels with it, pilots it for the entire booking, and packs it out when you’re done.
Tell us what you’re planning and how long you need it. A person reads every enquiry and replies within one business day.
Robot captain
- Certified on the R1 platform
- Transport, setup, teardown
- Live piloting for the full booking
- Crowd safety and floor management
Included. Not optional.
Standing policy
We don’t rent the robot without its captain.
People ask. The answer is always the same, so here is the reasoning in full — it is a safety position first and a quality position second.
It is 25 kilos of moving machine in a crowd
The R1 walks, pivots, and can lose footing on a cable run or a lip in the floor. Our captains read a room, keep a working perimeter, and shut it down before a problem becomes an incident. Our insurance and Unitree’s warranty both assume a trained operator is the one at the controls.
An unpiloted robot stops being interesting in ten minutes
What holds a crowd is timing — the robot noticing someone, reacting to them, hitting the routine at the moment the booth fills up. That is a person making calls in real time. Left on a loop, it becomes furniture by the second hour.
Something always needs handling on the day
Batteries swap. Floors are worse than the site plan showed. The schedule slips and your keynote moves. Your captain absorbs all of it so nobody on your team spends the event troubleshooting a robot they met that morning.
1 : 1 One certified captain per robot, always. Book three units and three captains arrive.
The platform
Unitree R1
A full-size humanoid that actually moves like one. It walks, runs, dances, and — when the floor and the moment allow it — does cartwheels, handstands, and side kicks.
Height121cm
Mass25kg
Degrees of freedom26
Runtime per pack60min
- Sensing
- Binocular vision, four-microphone array, stereo speakers
- Compute
- 8-core CPU/GPU with onboard voice and image recognition
- Power
- Hot-swappable packs. Spares are part of every booking, so runtime is continuous.
- Interaction
- Responds to speech and to what it sees. Your captain can also drive it directly.
What people book it for
Trade show booths
Stops foot traffic in an aisle where every other booth has a screen and a bowl of mints.
Brand activations
Scripted to your campaign, with speech and gestures built in advance.
Product launches
Hands over the product, pulls the cover, walks it on stage.
Corporate events
Greets arrivals, works a reception, gives the room something to talk about.
Retail openings
Draws a crowd from the sidewalk and holds it long enough to matter.
Film & photo
Directable on set, with a captain who can hit the same mark repeatedly.
Booking
How it works
Four steps, in order. Nothing is confirmed until a human on our side says so.
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You tell us what you’re planning
Use the form, the chat, or the phone line. We want two things above all: what you want the robot to do, and how long you need it. Everything else we can work out later.
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A person reads it and calls you back
Within one business day. We check the date against the fleet, ask about your floor and your power, and figure out whether one unit or three is the right answer.
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You get a written quote and a mission brief
Fixed price, no day-of surprises. The brief covers the run of show, what the robot does and when, and exactly what we need from your venue.
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Your captain shows up and runs it
Early enough to set up and test on the actual floor. They stay for the whole booking, pilot the robot, handle every battery swap, and pack out at the end.
Why there are no prices on this page
A three-hour booth in Huntsville and a three-day conference in Denver are not the same job, and a published rate would be wrong for both. Here is what actually moves the number:
- Hours on site. We book in blocks, three-hour minimum.
- Travel. Free within 60 miles of either base. Past that: mileage, crew lodging, transit time.
- Units and crew. Every additional robot brings its own captain.
- Custom programming. Scripted routines, branded speech, and choreography are built ahead of time.
- The date. Peak trade-show weeks and holidays run higher.
Tell us your version of those five and you get a real number, in writing, within a business day.
Where we go
Two bases. One of them is closer than you think.
We crew out of Huntsville, Alabama and New York City. Between them we drive most of the Southeast and the Northeast corridor. Everywhere else we fly — the R1 travels in a case, and the captain travels with it.
- Zone 1 — no travel charge Within 60 miles of Huntsville, AL or New York, NY Nothing added for travel. Same-week dates are often open.
- Zone 2 — driven Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi — and New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts A captain drives it from whichever base is closer. Travel quoted as mileage plus crew time.
- Zone 3 — flown Everywhere else in the US Flown out of the nearer base. Travel, lodging, and transit quoted on top. Give us as much notice as you can.
Enquiry
Tell us what you’re planning
This isn’t a booking form — nothing gets reserved and no date is held. It goes to a person, who reads it and gets back to you within one business day. Prefer to talk? Call dispatch on 1-888-365-0485, any hour.
Now hiring — Huntsville, AL & New York, NY
Robot captains
You are the reason the booking works. You collect the unit, drive or fly to the venue, set it up, pilot it in front of a crowd for the length of the event, keep it running, and bring it home. Part technician, part performer.
- Comfortable working a live floor and talking to strangers all day
- Steady hands, quick reactions, and real spatial awareness
- On your feet for a full event, and able to lift a 25 kg case
- Based in or near Huntsville or New York City
- Willing to travel, including some weekends
- Robotics, A/V, live events, or drone experience helps — none of it is required
$28–$45 / hour depending on experience, plus travel Part-time and event-based, with full-time routes opening as the fleet grows Paid certification — two weeks of training on the platform before your first booking Minimum age 16. No prior experience required.
Apply — captains@crewbots.aiSend a short note about yourself and any experience that seems relevant. No formal cover letter needed. We reply to everyone.
- Role
- Robot captain
- Reports to
- Fleet dispatch
- Bases
- Huntsville, AL & New York, NY
- Travel
- Regional, some national
- Ratio
- One captain per robot
- Certification
- Paid, two weeks
Questions
Asked often
Can I rent the robot without a captain?
No. Not for a higher price, not with a bigger deposit, not for a shorter booking. The R1 is a 25 kg machine that moves under its own power around your guests, and it is insured and warranted here on the condition that a certified operator is running it. Every quote we write includes the captain.
What does it cost?
It depends on hours, travel, how many units, and how much custom programming you want. We don’t publish rates because a published rate would be wrong for most jobs. Send us the details and you’ll have a written quote within one business day.
How far ahead should I book?
Ten days is comfortable. We can sometimes turn a booking around in 72 hours with a rush fee, but never assume it — ask and we’ll tell you honestly.
Can the robot say our brand’s lines or do a specific routine?
Yes. Scripted speech, gestures, product hand-offs, and short choreographed routines are all normal requests. They get built before your event, so tell us early — it’s prep work, not something we improvise on the day.
Does it really only run for an hour?
One battery lasts about an hour. Packs swap out in seconds and your captain carries spares, so from your side it runs continuously for the whole booking.
Can it go outdoors?
On dry, firm, level ground, yes. Not in rain, not on grass, gravel, or sand. If your event is outdoors, tell us and we’ll plan a covered position.
What happens if it breaks during our event?
Your captain carries spares and handles field repairs. If a unit can’t be recovered on site, we refund the unused portion of the booking. That is the whole reason a trained operator travels with it.