World’s First Humanoid Robot Games Begin in Beijing

The world’s first-ever Humanoid Robot Games opened Friday at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval—venue of the 2022 Winter Olympics—featuring over 500 androids from 16 countries competing in sports and practical challenges.

Events range from athletics, basketball, and kung fu to real-world tasks like medicine categorisation and cleaning.

“In the next 10 years, robots will be basically at the same level as humans,” said 18-year-old spectator Chen Ruiyuan.

Highlights from Day One

• In five-a-side football, human-sized robots shuffled, stumbled, and sometimes collapsed in heaps.
• In the 1,500-metre race, China’s Unitree humanoids set the pace, with the fastest finishing in 6:29.37—well behind the human world record but impressive for machines.
• One robot even knocked over a human operator but stayed upright itself.

China’s Strategic Push

Organisers say this is the first global competition focused solely on human-shaped robots. China has placed humanoid robotics at the centre of its national technology strategy, with a one-trillion-yuan fund announced in March to boost robotics and AI startups.

Parents and schools have been encouraged to attend. “I hope it will inspire my son to learn about new technologies,” said visitor Cui Han.

The country already leads the world in industrial robot deployment and earlier this year staged the first humanoid robot half-marathon.

At the kung fu arena, a small Transformer-like robot drew cheers as it attempted a martial arts move—only to topple forward, spinning on the ground before finally getting back up.