The 2024 World Robot Contest Finals, just concluded on Tuesday in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, has captivated visitors with exciting robot battles and groundbreaking technologies.
The event consists of two major competitions: Brain-Computer Interface or BCI Brain-controlled Robot Competition and Youth Robot Design Competition.
Running from Jan 16 to 21, the event covers more than 20 major events, 50 minor events and 100 competition groups, providing a broad competitive stage for robot enthusiasts around the world.
During the six-day event, incredible displays realized by BCI technology, like typing and communicating with mind, have also taken the spotlight at the fair.
BCI refers to a system allowing a person to control a computer or other electronic device using his or her brainwaves, without requiring any movement or verbal instruction.
At the competition site, young contestants, wearing portable devices on their heads, silently controlled line-following robots to complete challenge tasks by leveraging their brainwave signals.
Wu Qin, a referee of the competition, explained that the performance of contestants is determined by their level of concentration during the event, with the data being collected from within the human brain.
"The BCI device works kind of like a fitness tracker that monitors our heart rate and blood oxygen levels," Wu added.
Meanwhile, a display and experience area, showcasing various application scenarios of BCI, have attracted crowds of visitors.
"I just experienced the mood breathing light and visual typing. Both are quite advanced. I haven't come across similar things before. This competition let us learn about these novel devices, and it's great," said a visitor.
Robot competition wows public with advancing brain-computer interface technology
Robot competition wows public with advancing brain-computer interface technology
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has withdrawn from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to secure its greater crude oil pricing autonomy and show its dissatisfaction with neighboring Arab states over their failure to condemn Iran's attacks on it, a Chinese expert on the Middle East said.
On Tuesday, the UAE announced it would withdraw from OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1. The move removes the bloc's third-largest oil producer and further weakens its influence over global oil supplies and prices.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Wang Jin, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Northwest University in China, noted that disagreements over global energy pricing between the UAE and other OPEC members prompted the exit, as the country seeks greater autonomy over its crude oil exports.
"There are divergent views between the UAE and members of the OPEC or the broader OPEC+ alliance regarding international energy pricing. According to Saudi Arabian assessments, a price range of 80 to 90 U.S. dollars per barrel aligns with their national interests. However, the UAE tends to believe that a price of around 50 U.S. dollars per barrel is sufficient to meet its essential economic needs. Consequently, the UAE seeks to exit these mechanisms to gain more leverage over pricing and bolster its autonomy in global oil exports," Wang said.
Beyond economic disputes, Wang noted that the decision also stems from the UAE's dissatisfaction with regional neighbors, who failed to provide sufficient support to the UAE -- the most targeted Gulf nation by Iranian strikes -- during the recent tensions in the Middle East.
"The UAE harbors deep dissatisfaction with current regional policies. After the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, the UAE has, in fact, been the most targeted Gulf nation by Iranian attacks. From the UAE's perspective, neighboring Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have failed to offer sufficient support for it or issue more vocal condemnations of Iran's actions. This lack of support has fueled the UAE's significant resentment. Furthermore, as Iran itself is a member of both OPEC and OPEC+ alliance, the UAE is inclined to use its withdrawal from these mechanisms to demonstrate dissatisfaction over the regional status quo," he said.
UAE quits OPEC for pricing autonomy amid regional tensions: Chinese expert
