Season 8, Post 31: Faster, higher, stronger - together?

For those who may have missed it, the second-ever World Humanoid Robot Games took place in Beijing last week. Over 2,000 robots participated. Many records were broken, reinforcing the case for a more humanoid future. Whether everything occurred entirely in the spirit the founders of the Olympic Games had envisaged remains open to debate.

Begin with the positives: at this year’s games, the robots had to work harder and perform more scenarios. In contrast to the prior event, remote control has become more restricted and even banned in some cases. This forces the humanoids to be more autonomous when handling challenges such as balance and navigation. At the same time, the events were not restricted just to track and field. Robots had to perform in areas such as sorting and restaurant service. Think of the games as a showcase for the industrial dexterity of humanoids.

Sixteen nations may have participated at the Robot Games, but over 90% of the teams (which typically represent companies or university research labs) and a similar number of robots were Chinese. No surprise that China took the lion’s share of medals. The winning participant in the 100m sprint – the Tiangong Ultra humanoid – recorded a time of 9.32 seconds, Usain’s Bolt’s record stands at 9.58 seconds. Neither was he present, nor, more tellingly, were any US robotic participants.

Any major event of this nature is clearly partly about projecting national power and technological leadership. The dominance of China mirrors how the country has become the market leader in global humanoid robotic shipments. Some reports suggest that China accounted for more than 95% of global shipments in the first half of this year. Its approach to building industrial leadership in humanoids mirrors that adopted in fields such as solar panels or electric vehicles. US robotic companies were presumably absent owing to concerns over commercial and competitive secrecy, with geopolitics also likely playing a role. The next (human) Olympics takes place in Los Angeles in 2028, where American pomp – if not humanoids – will almost certainly be on display.

The more crucial point is that we are moving closer to the tipping point of growing humanoid adoption. We certainly need them – to support both an ageing population and a shrinking workforce. As with any other technology, falling costs and growing capabilities should help accelerate development. Robots are already helping stack shelves and build cars. Even if your author does not plan to race one on the track any time soon, he can easily imagine seeing more humanoids around in the coming years.

2 September 2026

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