“If we try something and it doesn’t work, we lose the game… but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product that fails,” he told Reuters.
The first World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off in Beijing on Thursday, featuring over 500 robots from 16 countries competing in 26 events, including soccer, boxing, kung fu, and tasks like sorting medicine. The three-day event highlights China’s growing investment in artificial intelligence and robotics.
Max Polter of Germany’s HTWK Robots team said the contest offers valuable research opportunities. “If we try something and it doesn’t work, we lose the game… but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product that fails,” he told Reuters.
Competitions have been marked by frequent tumbles, with one of the fastest robots completing the 1,500-meter race in 6:29:37, far behind human records.
The games are held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, with tickets priced from 180 to 580 yuan. China recently announced a one-trillion-yuan fund to support technology startups, aiming to cement its leadership in robotics and AI.