(ECNS) -- From marathons to boxing and football, humanoid robot sports have surged in popularity this year, with China emerging as a global frontrunner and showcasing its cutting-edge robotics capabilities.
During the 2025 Spring Festival, a humanoid robot performing traditional Chinese handkerchief tricks went viral online. In April, Beijing hosted the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon, where robots ran a 21-kilometer course.
In May, Hangzhou witnessed the launch of the world's first humanoid robot fight. In June, public attention shifted to robot football, or the RoBoLeague Robot Football Tournament, where humanoid robots competed in team matches.
These sporting events demand high-level coordination and movement. Boxing requires precise footwork; football depends on balance, speed, and synchronized limb control. Each event reflects rapid advances in motion control algorithms and hardware design.
The RoBoLeague tournament also demonstrated a major shift: the robots were no longer remotely operated. Instead, they relied on vision systems and pre-programmed AI strategies to analyze the game in real time and respond dynamically, a leap forward in autonomy.
"Compared with remote-controlled sports or pre-set movements, AI-powered football — driven by autonomous decision-making, visual sensors, and multimodal algorithms — is the most promising format for scaling into everyday applications," said Cheng Hao, executive director of the tournament's organizing committee.
In the foreseeable future, robots are expected to participate in an increasing number of athletic competitions. This August, the World Humanoid Robot Games will be held in Beijing, featuring 19 events including sprinting, football, long jump, and freestyle gymnastics.
Cheng believes that competitive events serve as the best training ground, providing a fast track for advancing algorithms and hardware technologies as well as making technological progress more transparent and visible to the public.
He adds that the competitive economy will be a major driving force behind the development of humanoid robotics over the next decade.
This year's Chinese government work report mentioned embodied intelligence and intelligent robots for the first time, signaling a strategic push to accelerate development in advanced robotics.
According to industry forecasts, China's embodied intelligence market could surpass 1 trillion yuan (about $139.52 billion) by 2031.
With strong innovation capabilities and a comprehensive industrial system, China's robotics industry firmly stands in the top global tier.
As of July 2024, China boasted more than 190,000 effective robot-related patents, accounting for about two-thirds of the global total according to Xin Guobin, vice minister of Industry and Information Technology, who told the 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing that China has remained the world's largest market for industrial robots for an 11th consecutive year.
Humanoid robots may be grabbing headlines on the sports field today, but experts say their true potential lies off the track — in homes, factories, and service industries.
"In the future, humanoid robots will work autonomously and handle generalized tasks," said Wang, founder of robotics firm Galbot. "This is just the beginning of their role as true productivity tools."
(By Gong Weiwei)
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