When online skeptics accused EngineAI’s slick T800 humanoid demo of being computer-generated imagery, the company chose the most direct rebuttal: having the robot kick its own CEO across a room. This rather extreme form of quality assurance was designed to prove the robot’s 450 N·m of joint torque is very real, while also serving as a stark warning to future internet commenters. The CEO, Zhao Tongyang, later admitted that without protective gear, the kick likely would have broken his bones.
