Humanoid robots with cutting-edge technology to shine at fighting competition

China

Humanoid robots with cutting-edge technology to shine at fighting competition

2025-05-24 17:58 Last Updated At：18:37

The world's first robot fighting competition will open on Sunday in Hangzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province, highlighting humanoid robots equipped with cutting-edge technologies.

The event, China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Contest: Mech Combat Arena Competition, will be livestreamed globally.

The competition is set in the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou. The participating humanoid robots not only master fighting skills such as straight punches, hooks, and side kicks, but can also stand up quickly after falling to the ground.

Sun Baoyan, marketing manager of Hangzhou-based tech startup Unitree Robotics, one of the developers of the robots, said that these moves are extremely challenging for the robot's balance ability, reaction speed, endurance, and other factors.

"Taking a leg swinging action as an example, the motion control program needs to first analyze the various sensors inside the robot, so that it can sense the state of its body in real time, and then mobilize the motors of each joint to complete such a set of actions. This series of analyses are achieved in milliseconds," Sun said.

A greater challenge for the developers is to solve problems such as robot stability, endurance and heat dissipation in high-intensity confrontations.

The competition mainly consists of two parts: exhibition matches and competitive matches. On the eve of the event, both developers and robots are undergoing high-intensity skill training every day.

"We need to add a lot of fighting-related actions to the robot, all of which require special optimization. At the same time, you can see that our robot has a very strong anti-fall capability, thanks to the large amount of optimization work we have done in motion control algorithms," said Wang Qixin, a board member of Unitree Robotics.

All robots used in this competition adopt domestically developed core technologies. In addition to professional referees and commentators, experts in related fields will be invited to the competition site to deeply analyze the robots' every move, presenting a feast of technology and vision for the audience.

"We have adopted a lot of new technologies in camera settings and technical applications, including free view, AR, VR, and online packaging, trying to use more stylized lenses to make each robot very vivid (in the livestreaming) and make their performance in the matches more infectious. We also hope to further explore the capabilities of humanoid robots through such live broadcasts," said Jiang Hua, chief technical director of the event.

Iran says no plans to meet U.S. officials, consultations with mediators continue

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran currently has no plans to meet with U.S. officials, while consultations with Qatari and Pakistani mediators continue over Iran's conditions for resolving the crisis, Qatar's Al Jazeera reported Saturday.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi dismissed reports of possible meetings as media speculation, saying Iran saw no need to meet with American officials at present.

He said Tehran would decide whether to hold direct or indirect negotiations after Washington accepted Iran's conditions.

Araghchi said an Iranian delegation had traveled to Qatar for further discussions, adding that his aide was there to continue consultations with mediators.

According to Araghchi, Iran's conditions include recognition of a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran had worked out with Oman, and the closure of other routes.

He said Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions imposed after the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a reduction in U.S. military forces in the region, the restoration of sanctions waivers for Iranian oil exports, and the release of all frozen Iranian funds, including those held in Qatar.

Iran also demanded an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, he said.

Araghchi said mediators had presented proposals concerning Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran was reviewing as part of what he described as a second phase.

The Iranian foreign minister also said a letter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance had been reviewed at high-level meetings, describing the American effort to open the door to broader dialogue and understanding as a "positive step."

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts.

Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, ending on Aug 17, to reach a final agreement on Iran's nuclear program and the removal of sanctions. However, they failed to make sufficient progress toward a deal.