The World Humanoid Robot Games returned for a second year in Beijing, bringing together some 2,000 robots vying to prove their human-like sporting prowess.
The games, held in late August, featured 666 teams from 16 countries competing in events including football, dance and table tennis. The challenges weren’t limited to sports, though: the robots also demonstrated their versatility in scenario-based events that simulated household and hotel services, as well as firefighting.
@chinaliuyusen After dominating sprint races, TianGong 3.0 steps onto the weightlifting stage. Fully autonomous, it grips the barbell, lifts it overhead and holds steady for a valid attempt. Humanoid robots are not only fast runners. Power output and balance control are another tough test. Every successful lift is a solid breakthrough for embodied AI technology. #WorldHumanoidRobotGames #WorldRobotConference #TianGong3.0 #HumanoidRobot #RobotWeightlifting ♬ 原創音樂 - China LiuYusen
Track events like the 400 metres, 1,500m and 4x100m relay were reclassified this year as fully autonomous, meaning no human remote control or intervention of any kind was allowed. Additionally, organisers added a new contest testing dexterous robotic hands, featuring tasks like bottle-opening and bean-picking.
@techniahqrobot Humanoid robot football is starting to look much more physical. At the World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 in Beijing, multiple robots converge on the ball inside the penalty area. The result is messy, crowded and surprisingly similar to a real football scramble. Several robots lose balance. One goes down. Others keep trying to reposition around the ball while avoiding teammates and opponents in the same small space. This is where autonomous robot football gets difficult. The robot has to track a moving ball, localize itself on the field, recognize other players, decide where to move and keep its balance while nearby machines are constantly changing position. A clean one-on-one demo is much easier. Put several humanoids around the same ball and perception, coordination and collision avoidance all become part of the problem at once. World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 Beijing, China #WorldHumanoidRobotGames #WHRG2026 #HumanoidRobot #RobotFootball #Robotics ♬ original sound - techniahqrobot
But amid all the flailing, collisions and spectacular wipeouts, the robots also pulled off some seriously impressive feats. A bot named Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Innovation Centre of Humanoid Robotics, broke Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record for the 100m sprint. Bolt’s record was 9.58 seconds, but the robot managed to crack 8.64.
@techniahqrobot This might be the funniest event at the Robot Games 😂 A whole squad of robots starts the routine together… and then one after another they begin hitting the floor. The synchronization is impressive. The recovery attempts are even better. Humanoid robotics still has a long way to go, but watching robots compete, fail, recover and keep moving is exactly what makes these events so entertaining. #RobotGames #HumanoidRobots #Robotics #AI #RobotCompetition ♬ original sound - techniahqrobot
Then again, in a firefighting event that gave robots 30 minutes to identify dangerous substances, spot a fire and find an extinguisher to put it out, reportedly only 3 of the 12 competing teams completed the entire challenge.
@techniahqrobot This humanoid robot is absolutely sending it around the track. Captured at the World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 in Beijing, the robot is running through the curve at speed while constantly correcting its balance and foot placement. The corner is one of the hardest parts. Every step changes the robot’s momentum, body angle and contact with the ground. One bad landing can immediately turn into a fall. You can actually see the control system fighting to keep the body moving forward while the legs repeatedly recover underneath it. Humanoid robot racing is becoming one of the clearest ways to see progress in locomotion, balance and real-time motion control. And these machines are getting faster. #HumanoidRobots #Robotics #PhysicalAI #WorldHumanoidRobotGames #Beijing ♬ original sound - techniahqrobot
Read More:
