Robots race against humans for first time in Beijing half-marathon
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Fox News
06-07-2025
- Fox News
Autonomous humanoid robot soccer debuts in China
In a futuristic showdown that captured global attention, four teams of autonomous humanoid robots competed in China's first AI-powered soccer tournament. The event took place in Beijing's Yizhuang Development Zone as part of the Robo League robot football tournament, marking a significant milestone for real-world artificial intelligence competition in China. Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my Unlike remote-controlled robot matches, this tournament featured zero human intervention. Each team had three active humanoid robots plus a substitute, playing two ten-minute halves with a five-minute break. The robots ran, walked, kicked and even made real-time decisions using AI and sensors. Cameras and optical sensors allowed them to detect the ball from 65 feet away with more than 90% accuracy. They also recognized teammates, field markings, goals and opponents. Despite a slightly awkward gait, the robots operated fully on their own, acting and reacting without any external commands. "This is the first fully autonomous AI robot football match in China. It represents a combination of technological innovation and industrial application," said Dou Jing, executive director of the organizing committee. Beyond entertainment, the event offered a serious glimpse into how AI and robotics could integrate into public life. It demonstrated how far real-world autonomy has come and how these systems can function in unpredictable environments. Dou added that the match was a step toward bringing intelligent machines into everyday scenarios. The event also served as a preview for the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Sports Games, which will be hosted in Beijing from August 15-17. The games will include eleven events modeled after traditional sports, including track and field, gymnastics, soccer and synchronized dancing. It will be the city's second major humanoid sports event after a half-marathon. Organizers noted that while the robots still face challenges, such as dynamic obstacle avoidance, progress is happening quickly. For this event, collisions were allowed as long as they were not malicious. One co-organizer compared the level of play to that of 5 or 6-year-old children but expressed optimism that skill levels would improve with better hardware and AI training. The THU Robotics team from Tsinghua University defeated the Mountain Sea team from China Agricultural University 5-3. Earlier, China also hosted a humanoid vs. human long-distance race, where the top robot completed a 13-mile course in two hours and 40 minutes. The fastest human finished in just over one hour, but the comparison showed how far walking robots have come. As Beijing prepares to host the 2025 global games, robot soccer is starting to feel less like a gimmick and more like a glimpse into how intelligent machines could soon play a significant role in our everyday lives. Watching robots play soccer without any human help is a peek into where AI and robotics are headed. These machines are learning fast, and while they're still a little wobbly, the future of autonomous technology looks anything but uncertain. If this is the starting point, imagine what they'll be capable of in just a few years. Would you stream a robot soccer match? Or is AI just not your kind of athlete? Let us know by writing to us at Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
08-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Beijing pours tens of millions of dollars into fostering Nvidia-free AI ecosystem in China
Beijing is allocating tens of millions of US dollars in subsidies to stimulate growth in the city's artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, using entirely domestic technologies, as China invests heavily in its technological self-reliance drive. Advertisement The Yizhuang Development Zone, also known as the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, said on Wednesday it aimed to establish a nationally leading AI industry ecosystem valued at 80 billion yuan (US$11 billion) by the end of this year, according to a plan shared on its official WeChat account. The ecosystem would rely only on Chinese semiconductors, operating systems and open-source software frameworks to ensure self-sufficiency and control, policymakers said. A key focus would be to 'accelerate research and development for high-performance graphics processing units' and support the development of chips based on the RISC-V architecture The Yizhuang Development Zone's latest plan is part of a national initiative aimed at implementing AI in various industries, including robotics. Photo: Xinhua RISC-V stands for the fifth generation of the Reduced Instruction Set Computer, a design philosophy for simplified architectures for central processing units. While not nearly as widely used as Intel's x86 or Arm's platforms, RISC-V has been gaining traction because of its open-source code base, especially in mainland China.
Independent Singapore
21-04-2025
- Independent Singapore
Humans vs Humanoids: Robots compete with humans at Yizhuang half-marathon in China
Photo: The Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing was a blend of technology and athletics as 21 humanoid robots joined thousands of human runners on the 21km course. These robots, created by Chinese companies like DroidVP and Noetix Robotics, have sizes from just under 1.2m to 1.8m tall. One of the companies presented a robot that looked like a human, complete with feminine features, and had the ability to wink and smile. There were also robots dressed for the race, with a few wearing running shoes to further enhance their performance. Moreover, one robot stood out with boxing gloves, and another sported a red headband emblazoned with the words 'Bound to Win' in Chinese. Some of the robots underwent weeks of testing to prepare for the race. These robots were not only accompanied by human trainers but also required physical support from them during the event. Spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence, shared, 'The robots are running very well, very stable … I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI.' The winning robot, Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, completed the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes. On the other hand, the men's race winner finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes. Tang Jian, the chief technology officer of the robotics centre, explained that Tiangong Ultra's performance was helped by its long legs and an algorithm that mimics how humans run a marathon. 'I don't want to boast, but no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements,' he said. He also added that the robot's batteries were replaced three times during the race. This is the first time humanoid robots have raced alongside humans, even though they have appeared in marathons over the past years. China is investing heavily in emerging industries like robotics, hoping they will fuel new economic growth. BBC News shared the story in a social media post, and netizens had mixed reactions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BBC News (@bbcnews) As one commenter put it, 'They'd have a lot more success if we didn't keep this ridiculous notion that robots have to look like people. Give it four legs…and suddenly it's more stable and has more weight capacity for computers and batteries.' Another netizen remarked: 'It's good to see a diversity of robot forms, sizes, and capabilities as it shows multiple streams of R&D. While some are primitive today, they are at the disruptive innovation stage; based on the progress shown here, they will clearly cross the chasm into being ready for many everyday use cases within three to five years; it's going to be interesting times as we adapt to the new economics of non-human but humanoid workers.' While some found it impressive, other commenters shared a more serious take.'In a few years, this ain't funny anymore,' one person wrote Another added, 'I thought robots were meant to help us (like in extreme situations where humans need rescue, etc), not compete against us in silly races and generate AI art…. what a waste' One more user had strong words saying, 'The reason why we shouldn't have these people creating these 🤭….. They can't even get human life right. Sickening how people want robots to control everything.'
