Embodied AI contest to promote AI application in daily life: insiders

The world's first embodied artificial intelligence skills contest using the WorldSkills Competitions' judging standards held in Shanghai from Friday to Sunday is expected to effectively promote humanoid robots' integration into various aspects of life and industrial production.

The contest was part of the Global Developer Pioneers Summit 2025.

The judges of the contest included AI experts, robotics experts, and WorldSkills Competition winners, ensuring that it was professional, and reflected real human needs.

Matches on home services included flower arrangements, folding clothes and serving meals.

Responding to voice commands, relevant humanoid robots were able to accurately find the right flower types from those with similar colors or shapes and arrange them in a narrow-mouth vase smoothly.

"The judges evaluated the robots' recognition abilities, autonomous abilities and reasoning abilities. The contest involved digitization, programming, robotics and even the realm of art," said judge Wang Dajiang.

"We believe that in the future, robots will serve every household, focusing on areas including home services and elderly care. I am confident that through our annual competitions, which feature AI experts and mentoring from champions of the WorldSkills competition, the development of robotic skills will accelerate significantly, This will then enable robots to swiftly integrate into various aspects of daily life and industrial production," said Jiang Lei, principal investigator with the National and Local Co-built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center.

Embodied AI contest to promote AI application in daily life: insiders

Tokyo stocks ended higher on Tuesday, buoyed by bargain-hunting in some heavyweight technology shares.

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 500.77 points, or 0.74 percent, from Monday at 67,743.50.

The broader Topix index finished 31.49 points, or 0.79 percent, higher at 4,038.98. On the top-tier Prime Market, mining, marine transportation, and chemical issues were notable gainers.

The market swung between gains and losses amid growing concern over oil supplies after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts said persistent uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict, coupled with higher oil prices, is keeping investors cautious.

Heavyweight semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related shares initially tracked overnight losses on Wall Street, dragging the Nikkei index down by nearly 1,000 points at one stage.

However, bargain-hunting emerged following recent declines, lifting the market to end in positive territory.

Tokyo stocks end higher on dip buying of tech shares