Beijing's first World Humanoid Robot Games opens with hip-hop, martial arts and music
The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports including soccer, running and boxing. It comes as China has stepped up efforts to develop humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.
During the opening ceremony, the robots demonstrated soccer and boxing among other sports, with some cheering and backflipping as if at a real sports day.
One robot soccer player scored a goal after a few tries, causing the goalkeeper to fall to the ground. Another player fell but stood up unassisted.
The robots also modeled fashionable hats and clothes alongside human models. One robot model sadly fell and had to be carried off the stage by two human beings.
Teams from robot companies and Chinese universities including Tsinghua University and Peking University are competing in the games. Three middle schools are also participating.
China's official newspaper People's Daily quoted a government officer in Beijing as saying 'every robot participates is creating history.'
The event will last three days, concluding on Sunday. Tickets sold to the public range from 180 yuan ($25) to 580 ($80).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
6 hours ago
- Bloomberg
China's Top Rival to Tesla Bot Headlines Robot Games in Beijing
Unitree Robotics brought the spotlight-grabbing machines at Beijing's set piece robots competition on Friday, burnishing its reputation as a national champion for China's ambitions in developing AI and humanoids. The Hangzhou-based company's H1 robot won gold in a 1,500-meter humanoid race with a listed time of 6 minutes and 35 seconds, beating the average mile time on Strava by close to four minutes. Another Unitree machine also made it to the podium in a race that highlighted day one of the World Humanoid Robot Games.
Indianapolis Star
8 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
There's just a month until TikTok could be banned – again. Here's where things stand.
President Donald Trump has one month to finalize the sale of TikTok or the short-form video platform risks going dark in the U.S. – again. For months, Trump has said negotiations for the sale of TikTok have been ongoing with China, as the platform is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. Since the platform went dark for less than 24 hours in January, Trump has extended the deadline on a ban of TikTok in the U.S. three times. And he may just conduct a fourth. In late July, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview that if China did not approve a U.S.-drafted deal to sell the platform's American assets, the app would go dark again, once the next ban extension expires on Sept. 17. "If that deal gets approved by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If they don't approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark," Lutnick previously said. "And those decisions are coming very soon, so let's see what the Chinese do. They've got to approve it. The deal is over to them right now." The White House did not immediately respond for comment when contacted by USA TODAY on Aug. 15. The next deadline for TikTok to be sold by ByteDance is Sept. 17. Some government officials are concerned that TikTok poses a national security threat, believing that ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, is sharing U.S. user data with China. TikTok has repeatedly denied these claims. In January, the platform went dark for less than 24 hours under federal legislation signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2024. Trump has signed executive orders three times now that push back the deadline for when TikTok must be sold, promising that deals with China are on the horizon. The latest was in early July, when Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was hopeful Chinese President Xi would agree to a deal to see the platform to the U.S.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Football and falls as first humanoid robot games launch in China
The first World Humanoid Robot Games began on Friday in Beijing with over 500 androids alternating between jerky tumbles and glimpses of real power as they compete in events from the 100-metre hurdles to kung fu. Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries are going for gold at the Chinese capital's National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Events include traditional sports like athletics and basketball, as well as practical tasks such as medicine categorisation and cleaning. "I believe in the next 10 years or so robots will be basically at the same level as humans," enthusiastic 18-year-old spectator Chen Ruiyuan told AFP. Human athletes might not be quaking in their boots just yet. At one of the first events on Friday, five-a-side football, 10 robots the size of seven-year-olds shuffled around the pitch, often getting stuck in a scrum or falling over en masse. However, in a 1500m race, domestic champion Unitree's humanoid stomped along the track at an impressive clip, easily outpacing rivals. The fastest robot AFP witnessed finished in 6min 29.37sec, a far cry from the human men's world record of 3:26.00. One mechanical racer barrelled straight into a human operator. The robot remained standing while the human was knocked flat, though did not appear to be injured. - 'National strategy' - Robot competitions have been held for decades, but the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games is the first to focus specifically on robots that resemble human bodies, organisers said. The Chinese government has poured support into robotics hoping to lead the industry. Beijing has put humanoids in the "centre of their national strategy", the International Federation of Robotics wrote in a paper on Thursday. "The government wants to showcase its competence and global competitiveness in this field of technology," it added. Joost Weerheim, an operator with a Dutch five-a-side robot football team, told AFP he was impressed. "I think right now if they are not already the world leader, they are very, very quickly becoming it," he said. Domestically, authorities are working to raise awareness of the sector across society. Cui Han, accompanying her 10-year-old, told AFP that her son's school had organised and paid for the trip to the Games. "I hope it will encourage him to learn more about these new technologies," she said. In March, China announced plans for a one-trillion-yuan fund ($139 billion) to support technology startups, including those in robotics and AI. The country is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, official statistics show, and in April Beijing held what organisers dubbed the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon. Chen, the 18-year-old, told AFP he was about to begin studying automation at university. "Coming here can cultivate my passion for this field," he said. "My favourite is the boxing because... it requires a lot of agility and I can really see how the robots have improved from before." At the kung fu competition area, a pint-sized robot resembling one from the popular Transformer series attempted to execute a move, but fell flat on its front. It spun around on the floor as it struggled to get back up, the crowd happily cheering. bur-reb/pst
