China’s Top Rival to Tesla Bot Headlines Robot Games in Beijing

Unitree Robotics stole the show at the robots competition in Beijing on Friday, reinforcing its status as a key player in China’s quest to lead in AI and humanoid technology. The company, based in Hangzhou, saw its H1 robot clinch gold in a 1,500-meter humanoid race, clocking in at an impressive 6 minutes and 35 seconds—nearly four minutes faster than the average mile time on Strava. Another one of Unitree's robots also made it to the podium during the first day of the World Humanoid Robot Games. This three-day event in the Chinese capital is yet another opportunity for the nation to showcase its contenders against Tesla Inc. and other American firms venturing into the exciting world of advanced robotics. While Tesla’s Optimus humanoid is still mostly a work in progress, Unitree’s robots demonstrated a range of athletic abilities, building on China's recent advancements, including a half-marathon race back in April. However, the journey is not without its hiccups; several robot racers stumbled on the track, and one even lost an arm. Nearby, in soccer matches, the robots struggled with basic skills like passing and tackling, making the games resemble rugby more than soccer, as one robot would simply try to bulldoze the ball into the opposing team’s net. Many of the robots on display still relied on human operators using joysticks to control their movements. In the boxing ring set up at the heart of the National Speed Skating Oval arena, contestants from local universities matched up Unitree’s G1 models against each other. The robots, easily identifiable by their colorful headbands and gloves, impressed the crowd with their kicks and punches. Unitree’s visibility has surged since CEO Wang Xingxing participated in a high-profile meeting with tech leaders, including Alibaba’s billionaire co-founder Jack Ma, and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year, an event aimed at showcasing Beijing’s backing for private tech enterprises. On Friday, the event saw the addition of hundreds more robots. Beyond the main stage, there were some exciting demonstrations, like a robotic arm playing table tennis and wheeled robots shooting hoops. Two-legged humanoid competitors are gearing up to vie for 26 gold medals in various competitions, ranging from track and field to soccer and kickboxing. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, believes that robotics could evolve into a multitrillion-dollar industry. Meanwhile, Elon Musk envisions Tesla’s Optimus potentially raking in $10 trillion in revenue. Over in China, there's a strong push to either match or outpace US advancements in this field. Earlier this month, Unitree’s Wang remarked that “it feels like we are at a point of one to three years before ChatGPT emerged.” When the AI technology needed to create truly humanlike robots is ready, Beijing aims to be at the forefront, ready to seize the opportunity.

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