For three days, more than 280 teams from universities and companies from 16 countries presented their robots in Beijing. The tests went from football to kickboxing, including the race or obstacle courses. Some robots have shown unprecedented acrobatic capacities, succeeding in rear saltos or crossing damaged terrain.
Prowess and clumsiness
But the reality on the ground was often more comical than spectacular. During football matches, robots no larger than children collapsed on each other as dominoes. A goalkeeper remained motionless while a ball bounced several times against his legs before entering the goal. In boxing fights, equipped with colorful gloves, robots struck in a vacuum. “” The success rate is a bit low “Humor admitted an official commentator with humor.
Subscribe to Journal du Geek
The organizers have not escaped some incidents: a robot from the Chinese company SURITE ROBOTICS overthrew a staff member in full race. However, another model of the same company won the test of the 1,500 meter indoor with a time of 6 minutes 34 seconds, a remarkable performance for a robot … even if it remains far from the 3 min 29 s of the human record holder Jakob Ingiten.
These games were not just curiosity. It was also for Beijing an opportunity to stage his ambitions in robotics. Already in February, humanoids had danced during the Lunar New Year TV gala. In April, the government had organized a half-marathon integrating around twenty robots among the runners.
Local authorities presented this competition as a life -size test to assess the progress of the discipline. Because despite the falls, the spectators were able to see significant advances in locomotion and balance. Robots capable of running or making acrobatics were just a fantasy a few years ago.
Producing a humanoid robot is no longer reserved for a few laboratories with colossal budgets. Wider access to equipment and AI progress now makes it possible to expand the field of experiences and manufacturers. These advances should not, however, hide the current limits. The robots presented in Beijing do not yet have planning or reasoning capacities which would make them truly autonomous. The robots are still… a little stupid.