China Hosts The World’s First Humanoid Robot Games

China began hosting its highly anticipated three-day World Humanoid Robot Games this Friday, showcasing advances in robotics and AI across multiple fields. The competition features 280 teams from 16 countries and over 500 robots.

According to Deutsche Welle, the event includes 26 competitions in areas such as boxing, soccer, table tennis, cleaning, and medicine sorting.

China has previously organized several events to promote the competition. In April, the world’s first mixed half-marathon was held in Beijing, in which robots and humans ran together for the first time in a 21.1-kilometer course. The next month, the world’s first robot kickboxing competition took place in Hangzhou, and in June, Beijing hosted the first RoBoLeague 3‑on‑3 humanoid robot soccer tournament.

Beyond the competitive environment, China’s World Humanoid Robot Games also serve as a platform to showcase the advances and potential in AI achieved by both China and other participating countries, such as the United States, Brazil, and Germany.

According to Reuters, 192 participants at the “robot olympics” represented universities, and 88 private companies, such as China’s Fourier Intelligence and Unitree.

“We come here to play and to win. But we are also interested in research,” said Max Polter, a member of HTWK Robots football team from Germany, affiliated with Leipzig University of Applied Sciences in an interview with Reuters. “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. That’s sad but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product which failed.”

Multiple robots collapsed and failed in the first competitions. Four robots crashed into each other in the soccer match, and one robot collapsed in the 1500-metre running event. Organizers explained that all data collation was valuable for optimizing and improving robot development.

China keeps investing billions in robotics and AI development, competing against other nations with advanced technologies, such as the United States.