Beijing staged the world’s first World Humanoid Robot Games from Aug. 14 to 17, opening with a 46-minute ceremony at the National Speed Skating Oval before three days of competition. The event closed on Sunday after drawing paying spectators to what organisers billed as a milestone for “embodied AI.” More than 500 robots representing 280 university and corporate teams from 16 countries competed across 26 events that mixed Olympic-style sport with real-world tasks. Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics dominated the track, clocking 6 minutes 34 seconds in the 1,500-metre run and 1 minute 28 seconds in the 400 metres, part of a four-gold haul that also included the 100-metre obstacle race and the 4×100-metre relay. A separate standing high-jump contest produced a record leap of 0.95 metres, while Tsinghua University’s Hephaestus side beat a joint German squad to take the fully autonomous five-a-side soccer crown. Tickets ranged from 128 to 580 yuan ($18-$81), and organisers said the falls, collisions and recoveries on display generated troves of data for improving balance, perception and multi-robot coordination. The government-backed showcase underscores China’s multibillion-dollar drive to build a global lead in humanoid robotics as ageing demographics and U.S. tech rivalry spur investment in factory and service-sector automation.