THE first ever robot Olympics have kicked off – with footage of the bungling droids showing they might not be ready for world domination just yet.
The event, spanning three days in China, features robots competing in various sports with 280 teams from 16 countries.
The AI bots are set to go head-to-head in a range of competitions such as football, track and field, boxing and table tennis.
Robot-specific games are also set to take place – with contests ranging from sorting medicines to handling materials to cleaning services.
But human athletes can rest easy – footage of the games show there are a few defects which need to be ironed out.
At one of the first events a five–aside football match, 10 robots the size of seven–year–olds waddled around, frequently knocking each other over.
Mind-boggling footage showed the small bots step around the pitch, with one seen slowly knocking one into the back of the net.
Over in athletics, one robo-racer barrelled straight into a human operator who was knocked to the ground.
Footage also showed one racing humanoid near the finish line on a race – before tripping up at the last moment.
Participating robots are representing countries including the United States, Germany, and Brazil, among others.
There are 192 universities taking part in the groundbreaking competition.
Kicking off in the Chinese capital, the games include a whopping 500 androids.
And although some were laughed at with sudden tumbles and jerky movement, some of the bots showed real strength.
Max Polter, a member of the HTWK Robots football team from Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, stated: “We come here to compete and aim for victory. However, our focus extends to research as well.”
“You can test a lot of interesting new and exciting approaches in this contest.”
He added: “If we try something and it doesn’t work, we lose the game.
“That’s sad but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product which failed.”
Spectators at the games paid anywhere between $17.83 and $80.77 for tickets.
In a 1,500–metre race, domestic champion Unitree’s humanoid runners effortlessly outpaced their rivals.
The fastest robot finished in 6:29:37, AFP reported.
For comparison, the fastest human record for the same race is 3:26:00.
Beijing’s city government is one of the big backers of the games – a symbol of how much China are investing into robots and AI.
The push comes as the country faces an ageing population and slowing growth.
China has been rolling out headline-grabbing robot events, including the world’s first humanoid marathon in Beijing earlier this year.
The historic competitive race between man and bot saw 21 humanoid robots race alongside 12,000 runners around the 13-mile course.
Organisers said the new games provide valuable data collection opportunities for developing robots for practical applications such as factory work.
Experts suggest that football matches can enhance robots’ coordination skills, which could be beneficial for tasks such as automated assembly line operations in manufacturing settings.
