Robots demonstrated smooth performances in a newly added and more difficult 400m obstacle race at the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Monday, with multiple obstacles designed to test the robots' balance, obstacle-crossing ability and adaptability to competition conditions.
In the final round of the 400m obstacle race, a track and field event newly introduced this year, all participating robots, divided into 15 groups, were operated via remote control.
The course included 16 obstacle points, with challenges such as crawling tunnel, asymmetric seesaw, and width-limited L-shaped turn testing the robots' body balance, whole-body coordination, and obstacle avoidance capabilities.
"The 400m obstacle race is an upgrade from last year's 100m obstacles. In terms of overall difficulty, it is much greater than last year. The elevated platform, seesaw, tire obstacles, crawling tunnel, and the plum blossom posts -- all of these are new additions. What surprised us was that, with the increased difficulty, we thought it would be harder for the robots to complete the race. But as you just saw, the performances of all the participating teams were generally quite smooth. The robots' control capabilities are now at a higher level," said Chen Bin, event director of track and field at the second World Humanoid Robot Games.
In the final results, Tianjiao Team, Shanghai AGIbot Team, and Tiangong Team took the top three places with times of 4:11.44, 4:19.13, and 4:32.65, respectively.
The race simulates a variety of scenarios aimed at training the robots' comprehensive response capabilities and accumulating technical experience for future applications in areas such as emergency rescue and field exploration.
Running through Wednesday, the five-day games have attracted 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries and regions across six continents, with team participation quadrupling from the inaugural edition last year. The event features 51 competition items, up from 26 last year, while the number of matches has surged from 487 to 1,301.
400m Obstacles test robots' agility at World Humanoid Robot Games
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as a sharp sell-off in semiconductor equities dragged down the technology sector, while investors digested new U.S. economic sanctions announced against Iran and fresh trade tariff warnings targeting Canada.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.15 points, or 0.26 percent, to 53,417.16. The S and P 500 sank 21.51 points, or 0.28 percent, to 7,652.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 200.264 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,980.19.
Eight of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the green, with consumer staples and financials leading the gainers by going up 1.76 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and energy led the laggards by losing 1.59 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively.
The tech sector's pullback stemmed from broad weakness across chipmakers. Memory and semiconductor shares came under heavy pressure following weekend reports that graphics processor leader Nvidia plans to implement price hikes across select AI server configurations. SanDisk, Western Digital, SK Hynix, Micron Technology and Seagate Technology all finished lower.
Geopolitical developments dominated macroeconomic headlines as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday threatened Iran with "an economic D-Day," announcing a wave of new sanctions aimed at further isolating the country.
On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump escalated trade frictions with Canada, announcing intentions to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, automotive parts and steel to 50 percent effective Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement weighed on domestic automotive equities, pulling shares of General Motors and Ford lower.
In corporate earnings disclosures, U.S.-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce firm PDD and electric vehicle maker XPeng declined 1.48 percent and 8.53 percent, respectively, following their latest quarterly financial reports.
Market attention is now converging on two critical catalysts later this week: Nvidia's highly anticipated second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, expected to serve as a vital referendum on the ongoing AI investment cycle, and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's scheduled address at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
U.S. stocks close mixed as chip stocks sink
