Beijing to host second World Humanoid Robot Games in August

Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval is set to host the second World Humanoid Robot Games from Aug 22 to 26, when it will showcase robots competing in multiple sports, including tug-of-war, the ancient precision game of Touhu, and weightlifting.

Co-organized by the Beijing municipal government, China Media Group, the World Robot Cooperation Organization, and the RoboCup Asia-Pacific Confederation (RCAP), the event will feature more than 30 competitions.

Jiang Guangzhi, Party secretary and director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said at a news conference on Tuesday that this year's games will emphasize greater autonomy, dexterity, and practicality.

This year's 100-meter dash will be a fully autonomous event, Jiang said, adding that competitors are "encouraged to use autonomous positioning, recognition, and operation across various scenarios".

The games will also test fine motor skills through organizing clothes, firefighting, and food preparation in retail environments. Real-world settings will challenge robots to perform long-range tasks autonomously to assess their perception, decision-making, and precision.

The event will employ first-use robot trials and a leaderboard to provide data for the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center to develop platforms for technology research, embodied intelligence data, mid-term validation, and industry services, according to Jiang.

Zhou Changjiu, president of the RCAP, highlighted China's presence in international competitions, saying that the nation's ample real-world scenarios provide vast opportunities for embodied AI. He anticipates international teams will lean on these advantages to develop algorithms and solutions. "It will deepen global collaboration, strengthen Beijing's leadership in embodied AI, and accelerate the formation of a globally influential developer community," he said.