Last year, Beijing hosted the world’s first Humanoid Robot Games, which put machines through their paces in soccer, boxing, martial arts and other sports.
Lightning runs towards the finish line. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
And at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza a few months ago, robots donning kung-fu outfits delighted and amazed viewers with their martial arts choreography.
More than 100 teams took part this year’s humanoid half-marathon – nearly five times as many as last year, when the contest debuted, but delivered mainly disappointing performances.
Zhao Haijie and Wang Qiaoxia won the men’s and women’s race in the human category on Sunday, respectively, both requiring more than an hour.
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