REK introduces S.T.E.E.L, a teleoperation system for robot fights

REK introduces S.T.E.E.L for controlling fighting robots

REK, the San Francisco promotion for remotely piloted humanoid robot fights, introduced a control system called S.T.E.E.L in a YouTube video posted Nov. 10. The name stands for Sparring Teleoperation for Embodied Engagement and Locomotion. REK says the system works with VR and any motion-capture setup, and calls it the world’s first fighting teleop.

The post does not say whether S.T.E.E.L replaces or renames the setup REK already uses, whether it will be available to outside users, or when it might be released and at what price. The “world’s first” claim is REK’s and has not been independently verified.

London robot fight nights bring machines together for combat

The London Evening Standard reported that Rock & Robots holds robot fights on the second Sunday of each month in Stoke Newington. The event pits antweight machines against one another and combines the fights with indie music, karaoke and a Super Nintendo.

The newspaper also reported that the Queer Robot Fighting League is launching in Hackney, with a goal of making combat robotics more accessible to beginners. Its founder described the league as a space for people to try engineering and learn by building, breaking and repairing robots.

Unitree G1 specifications and use in robot-fighting leagues

Unitree lists the G1 at about 35 kilograms with its battery, with 23 degrees of joint freedom on the standard model and about two hours of battery life. Its website lists a price of US $13,500, excluding tax and shipping. Those are manufacturer specifications, not measurements of a robot used in a fight.

Ultimate Bots assigns Unitree G1 robots to its four permanent Season 2 teams, while the Avatar Robotic Competition uses the G1 in its lightweight class. Unitree modified a G1 for a 2025 CMG event, but no published account describes those changes or a fighting-specific version.