Beijing Hosts ‘Olympic Games’ for Robots

A three-day competition for humanoid robots took place in Beijing, featuring 280 teams from 16 countries. The robots showcased their abilities in running, football, martial arts, jumping, and other disciplines.

The Unitree H1 robot from Unitree Robotics claimed gold in the 1500-meter race, completing it in 6 minutes and 35 seconds. The human record is 3 minutes and 26 seconds, set by Hicham El Guerrouj.

The Unitree H1 also demonstrated athletic tricks.

In the boxing ring, Unitree’s G1 models competed against each other, impressing spectators with their kicks and punches.

There were some mishaps. Some robots stumbled on the track, and one even lost an arm. On the football field, there were hardly any passes or tackles—the game resembled rugby, with one bot trying to force the ball into the opponent’s goal.

The event included not only humanoid bots. A robotic arm played table tennis, while wheeled androids shot baskets.

Unitree Robotics won a total of 11 medals, including four golds. X-Humanoid secured 10 medals. Beijing’s Neotix Robotics and Booster Robotics also took home prizes.

Most robots were remotely controlled. Tien Kung from X-Humanoid was the only participant in the race to operate fully autonomously without human intervention.

The next games are scheduled for August 2026, also in Beijing.

In June, a football match between humanoid robots was held in the Chinese capital.

In April, 21 humanoid bots participated in the Beijing half-marathon.