World's first humanoid robot games: China plays host; from football fumbles to racing mishaps, what is inside
The world's inaugural humanoid robot games commenced Friday in Beijing, featuring over 500 androids competing in events ranging from the 100-metre hurdles to kung fu. Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries vied for gold at the Chinese capital's National Speed Skating Oval, constructed for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The games encompassed traditional sports such as athletics and basketball, alongside practical tasks including 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 may not be intimidated at this stage. During one of the initial events on Friday morning, five-aside football saw ten robots the size of seven-year-olds maneuver around the pitch, frequently becoming entangled in scrums or toppling over en masse.
However, in a 1500-metre race, domestic champion Unitree's humanoids maintained an impressive pace, easily surpassing their competitors. The fastest robot AFP observed completed the race in 6:29:37, considerably slower than the human men's world record of 3:26:00. In one incident, a mechanical racer crashed into a human operator. The robot remained upright, while the human was knocked to the ground but did not appear to be injured.
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Robot competitions have been held for decades, but the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games marks the first to concentrate specifically on robots that resemble human bodies, organisers stated.
The Chinese govt has invested heavily in robotics with the aim of leading the industry. Beijing has placed humanoids at the "centre of their national strategy," the International Federation of Robotics stated in a paper on Thursday.
"The govt wants to showcase its competence and global competitiveness in this field of technology," it added. Authorities are endeavouring to raise awareness of the sector across society.
Cui Han, accompanying her 10-year-old son, told AFP that her son's school had organised and funded 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 (approx Rs 1,22,000 crore) fund to support technology startups, including those in robotics and AI. The country is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, official statistics indicate, and in April, Beijing held what organisers described as the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon.
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