What happened at Robot Games in China? Some landed back flips, others crashed into each other

Stumbling, belatedly headbutting, unable to navigate the turn on the 200m track and not managing to stop themselves from tripping over, robots at the Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing offered plenty of entertainment, and lots for geeks to work on on their mobility issues.

The 3-day event, where the robots fell down a lot and while featuring in running, kickboxing and soccer events — highlighted advancements in robotics and limitations, too, wrote New York times. They ran, kicked and punched, but crashed and fell over many times, the NYT added.

‘There’s a very real concern that robots could eventually make some of our jobs obsolete. But at a robot-only sports competition in China over the weekend, the immediate concern was that they would fall over or crash into each other,’ NYT offered. Featuring more than 280 teams from universities and private companies in 16 countries over the weekend, the NYT added that “some robots landed back flips and successfully navigated obstacle courses and rough terrain.”

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During soccer matches, 4 feet- ones tripped over each other, falling down like dominoes, NYT added, alongside a video where three converged on the ball and fell down in a heap, and then two more came along and couldn’tstem their fall.

NYT reported that “one goalkeeper robot stood placidly as its opponent kicked a ball at its legs several times before finally managing to score.”

“The robots served as a showcase for China’s efforts to make rapid advancements in robotics,” NYT noted as geeky handlers watched with trepidation if their creations would complete the tasks.

Lane discipline wasn’t exactly a Robot virtue, as a bunch of them struggled to lean and turn on the 200m track, but also careened off their allotted lanes.

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In one football match, a Robot tried to foul a fallen opponent, and tripped up himself.

“Participants said competition was valuable for data collection,” NYT said.

In 100m, a fairly sophisticated model pair with long strides won the contest. While back flips were managed, front flips were tough to pull off as many couldn’t stick their landings.

One Robot, a defender, would’ve drawn the most animated outrage from Italian human players. On the goal line, he fumbled a headbutting of a striker Robot, forgetting to defend. He also conceded a goal as the keeper retreated back into the net.

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