China’s humanoid robots break records and catch fire at Beijing games

At the National Speed Skating Oval, a former Olympic venue, one robot made by smartphone maker Honor lost a leg mid-sprint, and another finisher slammed into a crash mat before bursting into flames. In the weightlifting event, a robot lost its balance under a modest barbell and toppled onto the judges’ table. Robotic cheerleaders tumbled through their routines, and another bot fell off a platform in what might have looked like distraction. The event was only the second edition of the games, but it was far larger than the inaugural one last year, when the winning 100-meter sprint took a sluggish 21.50 seconds and the top standing high jump reached just 0.95 meters.

Despite the mishaps, records fell dramatically. One humanoid ran the 100-meter sprint in 9.39 seconds, beating Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds, and another cleared 2.88 meters in the standing high jump, nearly half a meter above the human record set in 1993. The Verge noted that such performances were almost unrecognizable compared with robotics competitions a decade ago, when even the most advanced machines struggled to stay upright.

Beyond track and field, the games featured unusual events such as bed-making, parcel delivery, shelf stacking, clothes folding, hammering nails, and even a firefighting contest. These tasks reflect the real purpose of the games: pushing robots out of laboratories into messy everyday environments where makers hope they will eventually work. While many events required autonomous operation, others allowed human teleoperation but with a scoring penalty. The dexterity on display pointed to genuine hardware improvements, but The Verge said there is still a long way to go before these machines can reliably work on their own in factories or homes.

China fielded the overwhelming majority of participants, with 641 of 666 teams coming from the country, representing 157 companies and 200 universities, according to state figures cited by The Verge. Chinese teams dominated the medal table, especially AgiBot and Tien Kung. The Verge noted that the lopsided result also reflected a lack of international competition, despite the games being framed as a global affair.

Beijing has not yet confirmed a third edition of the games, but a humanoid half-marathon is already planned for April, and the country says it will open its first robot-run hotel next year. China is well positioned to stay ahead in both future competitions and the humanoid robot industry as a whole, The Verge concluded.