The World Humanoid Robot Games will return to Beijing for a second year this August, with organizers announcing that the number of participating robots will quadruple from last year’s inaugural event.
Scheduled to take place from August 22 to August 26, the international event has attracted 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries, according to Jiang Guangzhi, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.
Participating machines include entries from major robotics powerhouses such as the United States, Germany, and Japan. Additionally, Brazil has assembled a national team comprising five RoboCup squads to compete in the games, according to Jiang.
On the domestic front, 641 teams and 1,975 robots will represent 157 companies alongside 200 universities and research institutes. This massive lineup includes many of China’s top robotics firms and 27 of its leading universities.
Organizers stated that this year’s games will feature more than 30 distinct events. The roster includes newly added competitions like the long jump, weightlifting, tug-of-war, and table tennis. These specific athletic events are designed to heavily assess the robots’ motion control, structural design, and core hardware components.
Beyond the sports arena, scenario-based contests will extend into real-world environments like factories, hotels, homes, and logistics centers. These practical tasks include assembly, housekeeping, emergency response, and library book sorting—and will directly assess the robots’ practical skills in complex settings.
READ MORE: AI creates new jobs in over half of UK firms: study
Jiang noted that many of the competition’s rules could eventually serve as technical standards, actively helping to translate recent advances in robotics into real-world industrial use.
“Once robots master these ‘last-meter’ skills, they can turn medals into orders and move directly from the competition arena to real-world workplaces,” Jiang said.
The first World Humanoid Robot Games, held in August 2025, attracted 280 teams and just over 500 humanoid robots from 16 countries.
