China held the first Robot Olympics, with over 500 humanoids taking part

The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, a three-day tournament where humanoid robots competed in Olympic disciplines and everyday tasks, have concluded in Beijing, Engadget reports.

More than 280 teams from 16 countries, including the US, Germany, Brazil and China, brought their androids to the arena. Most of the participants were from universities, but there were also well-known industry players, including Unitree and Fournier Intelligence.

The robots competed in running, football, table tennis, and practical skills such as cleaning and sorting medicines. Unitree emerged as the undisputed leader, winning gold in four events (100, 400, 1500 m and 4x100 m), with the highest recorded speed reaching 4.78 m/s.

For comparison, Usain Bolt's world record for the 100 m of 9.58 s remains unattainable for robots: Unitree's best time in this discipline was 33.71 s. Despite this, the organizers emphasize that the main goal of the competition is not so much speed, but testing designs and demonstrating capabilities.

However, the widespread introduction of such androids into everyday life is still far away. Some robots failed to start or dropped out of the race due to falls or technical failures. Some models required battery replacement or manual intervention right during the performances. One robot even lost an "arm" in the race, but finished to the applause of the audience.