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Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Robot Olympics underway as bots fight for medals in Beijing
It's science fiction brought to life this week, as China hosts the world's first 'Robot Olympic Games'. Sounds like something from an episode of Star Trek or the Star Wars movie franchise, but the three-day event, officially entitled the 'World Humanoid Robot Games', sees AI 'athletes' from 16 countries competing across a range of events and disciplines. The AI bots are going head–to–head in sports such as football, track and field, boxing, and table tennis. Pic:However the event has already had its share of gremlins in the works, as at one of the first events – five–aside football – 10 robots the size of seven–year–old kids shuffled their mechanical bodies around the pitch, often getting stuck in a scrum or falling over each other in a pile of robot limbs. And the AI antics continued over at the athletics field, where one runner slammed right into a human operator, who was knocked to the ground in the incident. The teams of robots have been developed from scientific facilities across the world and are representing countries such as the United States, Germany, and Brazil, with 192 representing universities and 88 from private enterprises. Pic:The games began in Beijing, China, this weekend, with over 500 androids competing for medals, but in their efforts, alternating between tumbles and falls, crashes and accidental scrums, in between, there were some frightening glimpses of real power as they competed in events from the 100–metre hurdles to martial arts. Max Polter, a member of the HTWK Robots Football Team from Germany, 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.' In a 1,500–metre race, Chinese humanoids stomped, rather than raced, along the track at an impressive clip, easily outpacing their rivals, with the fastest robot reportedly finishing the race in 6:29:37 minutes. However, that is still a far cry from the human men's world record of time of 3:26:00. Pic:The Beijing municipal government is among the organising bodies for the event, and is keen to show the emphasis Chinese authorities place on the robotics industry and reflects the country's broader ambitions in AI and robotics. It's thought to also reflect a worry in China, as the country grapples with an ageing population and slowing economic growth, with the country staging a number of high-profile robotics events in recent months, including the world's first humanoid robot marathon in Beijing. This event drew criticism after several robots started to emit smoke during the race, while some stalled and failed to finish the event, which raises questions about the current capabilities of the technology at the moment. Pic:However, the Robotics and AI Sector in China has received government subsidies of over $20 billion over the past year alone, while Beijing is believed to have plans to establish a multi-billion-dollar fund to support AI and Robotics startups. Still, while some people may view such competitions and events as simply publicity stunts, industry experts would disagree and instead see them as crucial catalysts for advancing AI and Humanoid Robots toward practical real-world applications. We've come a long way from R2-D2.
DW
3 days 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
