Shanghai to Host 2026 IEIC Embodied Intelligence Skills Competition, Putting Robots Through Real Job Tasks

The event is presented as an implementation of the 2026 special action plan for real-scenario training of humanoid robots and embodied intelligence issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Organizers describe the competition as a national platform for real-scenario, real-task testing and as a model that can be copied and promoted from Shanghai.

The nine tracks cover manufacturing, inspection and analysis, maintenance and repair, warehousing and logistics, catering and retail, healthcare and elderly care, workplace safety, emergency rescue, and culture, tourism and education. The competition's event list was drawn from more than 1,000 embodied intelligence application scenarios collected nationwide by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Organizers expect about 1,000 teams to take part. The stated slogan is "Labor is glorious; choose the most capable robot model worker."

Scoring uses a four-module, 100-point framework: task execution, embodied data collection and feedback, autonomous intelligence, and innovation capability. Differentiated conversion coefficients are applied according to body form — humanoid, quadruped or wheeled — and according to whether a team operates autonomously or by teleoperation, an arrangement organizers say makes different technical routes comparable on the same scale.

Judging is handled through a three-party cross-review system made up of a panel of embodied intelligence scientists, a panel of artificial intelligence technical experts, and a panel of skilled masters and representatives from the real scenarios.

Each of the 23 events offers one first prize of 10,000 yuan, two second prizes of 5,000 yuan each and three third prizes of 3,000 yuan each, along with a number of special awards for technical innovation and scenario deployment. Organizers are inviting research teams from internationally known universities and overseas embodied intelligence startups; winning teams can receive intent investment in the tens of millions of yuan and financing guidance. A single entry also connects teams to three later events — the October GDPS autumn conference, the December Middle East Artificial Intelligence Exhibition in Dubai, and the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July 2027 — which organizers describe as a sequence of appearance, overseas expansion and deployment.

The competition runs in stages. Scenario and task co-creation was to be completed by Sept. 30, turning companies' real pain points into task directions. By Oct. 10, a simulated production line was to be built and scenario testing and training carried out. The formal competition period is Oct. 23 to 25, when robots' generalization ability and the deployment value of scenario solutions are to be tested. After the event, organizers plan a national simulation competition from November 2026 to February 2027 and a national real-scenario training competition from March to June 2027, with selected teams and solutions recommended to the embodied intelligence exhibition at the July 2027 World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

The competition is guided by the organizing committee of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, hosted by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Association and the China Electronics Standardization Institute, and co-hosted by Shanghai Zhangjiang (Group) Co. and Shanghai Lujiazui (Group) Co. Registration is still open, with the official site at https://ieic.gdps.org.cn/.