World Humanoid Robot Games reveals new competition events

BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG), scheduled to be held in Beijing this August, has released details of its new competition events such as martial arts performance, free fighting and group dancing, according to the Beijing Evening News on Tuesday.

These newly added events will further showcase the technological prowess and unique charm of humanoid robots in competition, reflecting the deep integration of robot technology with people's lives, Zhang Hua, head of the Competition Department of the WHRG Organizing Committee, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The first batch of events to feature at these games had previously been confirmed -- with these including football, athletics, free gymnastics, badminton, basketball and table tennis, according to the report.

Among them, the RoboCup Asia-Pacific (RCAP) Beijing Masters is currently considered the world's premier humanoid robot football competition and is generating great expectations. There have been 30 robot football teams worldwide submitting preliminary applications, said Zhou Zhaoda, a technical official with the Competition Department of the WHRG Organizing Committee.

The WHRG to be held in mid-August will be the world's first multi-sport competition for humanoid robots.

"These games will demonstrate how close robots are to achieving human-like capabilities," said Jiang Guangzhi, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. ■