Robot Olympics Show China’s Humanoids Still Struggle Outside the Spotlight

China used a five-day humanoid robot competition in Beijing to display its growing robotics industry—and its machines’ very public limitations. More than 2,000 humanoid robots made by over 660 mostly Chinese technology companies took part in events including sprinting, boxing, football, breakdancing, weightlifting and obstacle courses. The spectacle attracted millions of viewers through livestreams and social media clips, where robots were alternately mocked, feared and treated with surprising sympathy. The 100-meter race provided the most dramatic example. The fastest competitor, Tiangong Ultra, completed the course in less than half the time recorded by the winning robot at the previous year’s event and reportedly exceeded Usain Bolt’s human record. But several machines crashed into a padded wall, sending sparks and mechanical parts flying. An Honor Lightning robot caught fire after the final, while other competitors stumbled or collapsed during events. The machines could also deliver powerful demonstrations. The event’s martial-arts robots performed forceful kicks, and the highest standing jump increased from 0.96 meters last year to 3.40 meters this year. Engineers have used liquid cooling to raise the torque of motors powering the robots’ limbs, contributing to greater speed and force. However, the competition largely showed progress in specialized physical abilities rather than general-purpose performance. Experts told The Guardian that robots could run quickly or box effectively, but generally could not do both. A separate set of practical tasks—including opening bottles, unpacking boxes, weighing powder and picking up beans with tweezers—received comparatively little attention. In one challenge, a robot struggled to lift a small object and spilled water while pouring. Thrishantha Nanayakkara of Imperial College London described the progress since the previous year as “staggering,” while Ingo Keller of the National Robotarium said the speed of development was unexpected but questioned whether it had changed the practical usefulness of humanoid robots. Wang Xingxing, founder of robotics company Unitree, said humanoids might still be a decade away from a broadly useful breakthrough. He identified limitations in artificial-intelligence models governing decision-making and interaction as the industry’s main bottleneck. The event served both as a technology showcase and a sales display for Chinese manufacturers. China produced about 12,800 humanoids last year, roughly 90% of the global total, according to the Mercator Institute for Chinese Studies. Yet the crashes and narrow specialization suggested that impressive athletic demonstrations remain different from robots capable of reliably handling unfamiliar everyday tasks.