Second global humanoid robot sports event kicks off with record participation and breakthrough performances

The Second World Humanoid Robot Sports Games commenced on August 22 at the National Speed Skating Oval 'Ice Ribbon' in Beijing, marking a significant milestone in the field of embodied intelligence. The event, co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Government, China Media Group, the World Robot Cooperation Organization, and the Asia-Pacific Robot Soccer International Council, attracted 666 teams and 2056 robots from 16 countries across six continents. This represents a 138% increase in teams and a quadrupling of robot numbers compared to the first edition, highlighting the rapid growth of the industry. During the opening ceremony, several records were broken as robots demonstrated capabilities surpassing human limits. In the men's 100-meter large group preliminary round, the Tian Gong Ultra from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center achieved a time of 9.39 seconds, breaking the previous world record of 9.58 seconds held by Usain Bolt. The robot also set a new benchmark in the men's 40,000-meter large group preliminary round with a time of 39.70 seconds, surpassing the human world record of 43.03 seconds. In the high jump event, the robot reached an astonishing height of 2.8843 meters. The Lightning robot also ran 41.95 seconds in the men's 400-meter large group track event, smoothly breaking the human world record. This year's competition places greater emphasis on intelligence and autonomous decision-making. Many events have transitioned from manual remote control to full autonomy. During the opening ceremony, leading teams showcased their advanced capabilities, including 80 Accelerated Evolution Booster T2 humanoid robots marching in formation to spell out 'BEIJING', 50 Tian Gong Body Intelligence 3.0 robots performing the complex 'Thomas Turn', and 25 Galaxy General Wheel-type Robots Galbot G1 completing fully autonomous tasks in home, retail, and catering scenarios. The competition features 51 events, expanding from 26 in the first edition. These include 30 competitive events and 21 scenario events, totaling 1301 matches. New high-intensity confrontation events such as long jump, weightlifting, tug-of-war, and table tennis have been introduced, alongside scenario events covering real-world applications in industry, logistics, hotels, homes, and fire rescue. Specialized dexterous hand events such as powder weighing, tweezers picking beans, and bottle opening and lid lifting have also been added. Domestically, 641 teams with 1975 robots from 157 companies, 200 universities, and research institutions have participated, including 27 teams from the 985 universities. Internationally, traditional robot powerhouses such as the United States, Germany, and Japan are competing, with Brazil bringing five robot football World Cup champion teams to form a national team. Following the event, the 'Ice Ribbon' will be transformed into a permanent training base to provide ongoing support for all participating teams.