From Football and Library Management to Opening Bottle Caps: 2nd Humanoid Robot Games Open in Beijing

A humanoid robot competition has kicked off in Beijing, China, where robots compete not only in athletic events like running and kicking a ball just like humans, but also in assembly and household service capabilities.

Co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal People's Government and China Media Group, the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games opened this evening (the 22nd) at the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the "Ice Ribbon," in Beijing.

Running for five days through the 26th, the event features 666 teams from 16 countries, with a total of 2,058 humanoid robots competing in 1,301 matches across 51 events.

The number of participating robots has more than quadrupled compared to about 500 at the inaugural event last year, while the number of matches has increased nearly 2.7-fold from 487 matches last year to 1,301 this year.

This year's competition has significantly expanded events that test abilities applicable in actual industrial and daily living environments, going beyond athletic capabilities such as running and combat.

Out of the total 51 events, 30 are athletic competitions, while 21 are "scenario events" that replicate real-world environments.

In addition to existing track and football events, the athletic competitions have newly added long jump, weightlifting, tug-of-war, and table tennis.

The organizing committee plans to comprehensively test not only the robots' artificial intelligence, but also their motion control systems, body structures, and the performance of core components through these events.

The scenario events expand the stage to real-world environments such as factories, hotels, homes, emergency rescue, library management, and distribution and retail, competing on how accurately robots can perform dangerous and difficult tasks.

Events testing the sophisticated operational capabilities of robot hands have also been prepared.

The robots will perform delicate tasks such as measuring powder, picking up beans with tweezers, and opening bottle caps.

While there were scenario competitions replicating actual working environments last year as well, the related events have increased from 6 to 21 this year, further raising the emphasis on verifying practical applicability in real industrial and living settings.

Along with the difficulty of the events, the autonomous driving standards have also been raised.

Except for the 100-meter and 400-meter obstacle races, track events and other competitive events must, in principle, be performed by robots in a fully autonomous manner without human remote control.

The organizers explained that the robots' competitive capabilities in football have also become much more advanced.

The organizing committee stated that the participating robots this year are capable of dribbling the ball, shooting powerfully, and even diving to block the ball.

On the night of the opening ceremony, a 7-on-7 robot football demonstration match and the preliminaries for the 400-meter and 100-meter track events are scheduled to take place, while the second day of the competition on the 23rd will crown winners of 12 gold medals.

On the final day, the 26th, events such as the freestyle combat final and the 5-on-5 football final will be held.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.