The Panama Canal Authority announced on Wednesday that it will cap daily vessel transits and change the allocation of daily auction slots from September amid reduced rainfall across the canal watershed caused by the El Nino phenomenon.
According to the official notice, the daily number of available transit slots will be lowered to 34 from September 3, and further reduced to 32 per day from September 15.
The canal authority said the measures are aimed at conserving water and ensuring safe operations, warning that further adjustments could follow if rainfall levels remain below historical averages.
El Nino drought forces Panama Canal to cut daily transits
El Nino drought forces Panama Canal to cut daily transits
The second World Humanoid Robot Games, which kicked off in Beijing on Saturday, presented grand robot formations at its opening ceremony, demonstrating synchronized marching, formation changes, and acrobatic stunts.
The marching formation display tested the robots' motion control, autonomous obstacle avoidance, and integrated standing-walking-running capabilities.
Three formations of autonomous robots took part in the parade. The first was comprised of 80 robots marching with uniform steps, synchronized arm swings, and perfectly aligned ranks. The robots also changed formations while moving.
Achieving such synchronized group movement required enhanced environmental perception, precise individual spatial positioning, and group coordination. According to the training team, all of this depended on the robots' computing power.
"The main control system placed in the robot's chest cavity has ultra-strong mobile computing power. All calculations are completed on this platform before being sent to all end effectors to execute the commands. It uses a WiFi and 5G dual-line setup to ensure real-time communication stability. We trained them for nearly two months," explained Dong Hao, vice president of research and development at Beijing Accelerated Evolution Technology Co., Ltd.
Another formation of 50 adult-sized robots were trained to march to the main stage, with two breaking ranks to perform high-difficulty "Thomas flair" gymnastics moves and other stunts, before all robots exit in perfect unison.
These robots will also compete in soccer, running, high jump, and tug-of-war during the games, demonstrating humanoid robots' autonomous perception, motion control, and group coordination capabilities.
Droids demonstrate precision marching at world humanoid robot games opening
