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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Watch as bungling bots compete in first World Robot Games – & show humanoids aren't ready for world domination just yet
It comes after the first ever robot marathon earlier this year METAL WINNERS Watch as bungling bots compete in first World Robot Games – & show humanoids aren't ready for world domination just yet THE first ever robot Olympics have kicked off - with footage of the bungling droids showing they might not be ready for world domination just yet. The three-day event, which takes place in China, will see robots with 280 teams from 16 different countries battle it out over a range of sporting events. 9 Humanoid robots play soccer during the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games Credit: EPA 9 280 teams took part from 16 countries Credit: Getty Advertisement 9 Shocking footage showed the bungling bots attempt to play football 9 One of the bots fell over during a race The AI bots are set to go head-to-head in a range of competitions such as football, track and field, boxing and table tennis. Robot-specific games are also set to take place - with contests ranging from sorting medicines to handling materials to cleaning services. Advertisement But human athletes can rest easy - footage of the games show there are a few defects which need to be ironed out. At one of the first events a five–aside football match, 10 robots the size of seven–year–olds waddled around, frequently knocking each other over. Mind-boggling footage showed the small bots step around the pitch, with one seen slowly knocking one into the back of the net. Over in athletics, one robo-racer barrelled straight into a human operator who was knocked to the ground. Advertisement Footage also showed one racing humanoid near the finish line on a race - before tripping up at the last moment. Participating robots are representing countries including the United States, Germany, and Brazil, among others. There are 192 universities taking part in the groundbreaking competition. Kicking off in the Chinese capital, the games include a whopping 500 androids. Inside chilling sex robot factory in China pumping out legions of next-gen AI-powered $3,000 'love dolls' for lonely men And although some were laughed at with sudden tumbles and jerky movement, some of the bots showed real strength. Advertisement HTWK Robots football team member Max Polter, affiliated with Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, said: "We come here to play and to win. But we are also interested in research. "You can test a lot of interesting new and exciting approaches in this contest." He added: "If we try something and it doesn't work, we lose the game. "That's sad but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product which failed." Spectators at the games paid anywhere between $17.83 and $80.77 for tickets. Advertisement 9 Humanoid robots compete in the kickboxing event on day one of the games Credit: Getty 9 Robots compete in the 400m event Credit: Getty 9 A humanoid robot wearing boxing gloves is seen celebrating Credit: EPA In a 1,500–metre race, domestic champion Unitree's humanoid runners effortlessly outpaced their rivals. The fastest robot finished in 6:29:37, AFP reported. Advertisement For comparison, the fastest human record for the same race is 3:26:00. Beijing's city government is one of the big backers of the games - a symbol of how much China are investing into robots and AI. The push comes as the country faces an ageing population and slowing growth. China has been rolling out headline-grabbing robot events, including the world's first humanoid marathon in Beijing earlier this year. The historic competitive race between man and bot saw 21 humanoid robots race alongside 12,000 runners around the 13-mile course. Advertisement Organisers said the new games provide valuable data collection opportunities for developing robots for practical applications such as factory work. Football matches can help train robots' coordination abilities, which could prove useful for automated assembly line operations in factories, analysts said. 9 The bots were seen bungling around the pitch Credit: Reuters
DW
a day ago
- Science
- DW
World's first humanoid robot games begin in China – DW – 08/15/2025
More or less human-like robots played soccer, table tennis, ran, danced and, often, fell over at the kickoff of the first humanoid robot games in China. More than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries are competing in 26 events ranging from soccer and boxing to sorting medicine and cleaning up at the first World Humanoid Robot Games. Three days of competitions began in Beijing, China, on Thursday evening as the country steps up efforts to develop robots powered by artificial intelligence. "We come here to play and to win. But we are also interested in research," said Max Polter, a member of the HTWK Robots football team from Germany, affiliated with Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, told Reuters news agency. "You can test a lot of interesting, new and exciting approaches in this contest. If we try something and it doesn't work, we lose the game," Polter said. "That's sad, but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product that fails." The robots crashed into each other and toppled over repeatedly during football matches, while another fell over mid-sprint during running events. The AFP news agency reported that one of the fastest robots finished a 1,500-meter race in 6:29:37 — well off the current human record of 3:26:00. At the kung fu competition, a child-sized robot resembling one from the popular Transformer series tried a complicated move only to fall on its face and spin on the floor in an attempt to get back up. The crowd, however, cheered happily. Chinese officials made humanoids the "center of their national strategy," the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) wrote in a paper published Thursday. "The government wants to showcase its competence and global competitiveness in this field of technology," it added. In March, China announced plans for a one-trillion-yuan fund (€119 billion, $139 billion) to support technology startups, including those in robotics and AI. Joost Weerheim, part of the Dutch five-a-side robot football team, told AFP he was impressed by the skill of China's teams. "I think right now if they are not already the world leader, they are very, very quickly becoming it," he said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Tickets to the humanoid games at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics, range from 180 yuan (about €22, $25) to 580 yuan (about €69, $80). China has staged several robotics events in recent months, including what it called the world'sfirst humanoid robot marathon, a robot conference and the opening of retail stores dedicated to humanoid robots. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
