Beijing unveils historic humanoid robot games: A showcase of racing and soccer
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CNET
2 hours ago
- CNET
Beijing's 'Robot Olympics' Are Off and Running (and Falling)
China just turned a pair of Olympic venues into a playground for robots. The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, running from Aug. 15-17, opened Friday with soccer, sprints, kickboxing and table tennis, as well as a healthy number of face-plants. The games feature 280 robot teams from 16 countries and hundreds of bipedal bots vying for medals and whatever passes for bragging rights to robots. Events are split between two 2022 Winter Olympics landmarks: China's National Stadium and the National Speed Skating Oval. On the schedule: track and field, football (soccer to Americans), table tennis, and "scenario" trials such as medicine sorting, cleaning services and industrial handling—the kind of practical skills that robot-makers actually care about. Humanoid robots compete in the 5 vs. 5 soccer event on day one of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. VCG/Getty images The highlight reel revealed more chaos than control: robots colliding mid-match, sprinters crumpling mid-stride and kickboxers needing a reboot. But there were bright spots, too. Some bots popped back to their feet unassisted and even finished middle-distance runs as handlers puffed behind them. There was even a 1,500-meter race. Tickets ran 128–580 yuan (about $18–$81). The robot athletes are supplied by a combination of academia and industry, including China's Unitree and Fourier, with squads also from the US, Germany, Brazil, Japan and more. Organizers pitch the weekend as data collection under pressure, with sports forcing the robots to demonstrate balance, vision and decision-making, all of which later will translate over to the robot's work in factories, logistics and as home helpers. Humanoid robots run in the 1500-meter race at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Kevin Frayer/Getty images China is using the Games to showcase its bet on embodied AI -- software linked to machines that can navigate human spaces. The country has poured billions of dollars into robotics and is planning a 1-trillion-yuan ( about $137 billion) fund for startups as part of a push to counter an aging-workforce crunch and compete in advanced manufacturing. Rules vary by event, but organizers say competitions span autonomous control and remote operation: either way, no mid-match "player swaps" for fresh robots are allowed. That means lots of stress testing on robot batteries, heat management and recovery behaviors in real-time chaos. The Associated Press has streamed some of the Games if you want to check it out. The event runs through Aug. 17.
ITV News
9 hours ago
- ITV News
World Robot Games: 'Olympians don't have much to worry about yet'
The first ever Humanoid Robot Games got underway on Friday in Beijing, as ITV News Asia Correspondent Debi Edwards reports It had been billed as the Olympics for Robots, and was even being held at one of Beijing's previous Winter Olympic venues. The stage was set for a sporting event like no other - and it kicked off on the track with the 1,500 metres. That's perhaps when we started to question the comparison between the first World Humanoid Robot Games and the Olympics. One robot, from the Chinese company Unitree, streaked ahead, while many of the others struggled to make the distance or just took too long. Several would have had grounds to complain about the ill-fitting running shoes wedged onto their feet. I spotted blatant signs of fixing and one team was running with a can of WD40 in hand. For the controllers of the robots, the 1,500 metres was a good workout, if nothing else. While the size and speed of the robots varied, enthusiasm appeared to be shared by all. In the post-competition interview zone, we met He Yuheng with his robot from the Beijing University of Information, Science and Technology. Their robot had proved to be a bit slow on the day, but he said the more knowledge they get from competitions like this, the more they can advance the technology that goes into the robots. He confidently predicted they might be winners one day. Boxing proved to be one of the biggest hits, despite the many misses thrown by the diminutive fighters in the ring. Just when you thought they were down for the count, they would spring back up for another round. The agility and ability of the boxers was particularly impressive. Five-a-side football can be frenetic, but not quite yet for robots. Spacing and passing seemed to be a challenge - so did staying on two feet. Teams had come from all over the world to take part, several European countries were represented and there was at least one team from the United States, South America and even the Middle East. In the dance category, ancient China came to life with what I can only describe as a rather surreal but engaging performance by a troupe of high-tech Terracotta Warriors. Traditional Chinese performances in kung-fu were also a crowd pleaser. The audience was filled with many families, the Games a popular day out during the school holidays. We spoke to Henry who had come with his mum. He was able to list several robot companies in China and was thrilled to see so many of them in action. But it must be said, the missteps and malfunctions did deliver a great deal of the entertainment. One moment in particular stands out and has been replayed several times for our amusement. We set up to film a dance robot, when it suddenly fell to the ground and was unceremoniously dragged away from the performance platform. So, it doesn't look like the world's Olympians have much to worry for the moment. Some of the humanoid's sporting displays were more comical than skillful - but you do get the impression we might not be laughing at them for long. I am told Humanoids vs Humans could come sooner than we think.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Beijing unveils historic humanoid robot games: A showcase of racing and soccer
The world's first Humanoid Robot Games kicked off in Beijing on Thursday evening (August 14). At the opening ceremony, humanoid robots performed in track-and-field races, soccer matches, and dance demonstrations. From August 15 to 17, 280 teams from 16 countries will compete across 26 events—including competitive, performance, scenario, and peripheral contests—totaling 487 matches. Show more Show less
