World Humanoid Robot Games kick off in Beijing

Humanoid robots danced hip-hop, carried out martial arts and performed keyboard, guitar and drums on the opening ceremony of the primary World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Thursday night.

The competitors begins Friday with greater than 500 humanoid robots in 280 groups from 16 nations, together with the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports activities together with soccer, working and boxing. The occasion comes as China has stepped up efforts to develop humanoid robots powered by synthetic intelligence.

During the opening ceremony, the robots demonstrated soccer and boxing among other sports, with some cheering and backflipping as if at a real sports event.

One robot soccer player scored a goal after a few tries, causing the robot goalkeeper to fall to the ground. Another player fell but stood up unassisted.

The robots also modeled fashionable hats and clothes alongside human models. In one mishap, a robot model fell and had to be carried off the stage by two human beings.

Teams from robot companies and Chinese universities including Tsinghua University and Peking University are competing in the games. Three middle schools are also participating.

China’s official newspaper People’s Daily quoted a government officer in Beijing as saying that every robot that participates “is creating history.”

The event will last three days, concluding on Sunday. Tickets sold to the public range from 180 yuan ($25) to 580 ($80).

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Olivia Zhang contributed to this report from Beijing.