Feature: Steel and Speed - China's Robolympics kicks off new era of AI sports

NANJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Move over, human athletes, and behold a futuristic "Robolympics". China's first-ever multi-sport games for AI-powered robots opened Friday in the eastern city of Wuxi, proving that the arena of sports is no longer reserved for flesh and blood alone.

The groundbreaking event came just days after Beijing made history with a half-marathon featuring humanoid robots running alongside humans.

The all-robot sports event took innovation one step further, gathering over one hundred of China's top robotics research teams to push the boundaries of embedded AI in competitive sports.

More than 150 cutting-edge AI robots, including humanoid ones, clashed in the steel showdown across an array of disciplines from sprinting and football to combat and dance.

The robot athletes raced down the track with their movements optimized for maximum velocity in the high-octane sprint, while the cross-country challenge tested their agility as they navigated grass, puddles, slopes and barriers, showcasing advanced obstacle avoidance in rugged terrain.

Football matches highlighted 2v2 robot teams competing for possession of the ball, and chasing it down until one side scored. In basketball, robots showed off their autonomous navigation, movement and shooting skills, sinking baskets with consistency.

The combat arena saw robots weighing 1.5kg - equipped with reinforced metal frames and hyper-flexible joints - spin, dodge and strike with calculated ferocity until one emerged victorious.

"Just like the Olympic motto, in robotics, it's also about 'Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together'," said Wang Yitao, who is in charge of the combat competition. "Everyone strives for breakthroughs and innovation."

"Yet when a robot falls, we cheer, because high-intensity sports activities test the robots' stability and generate invaluable data, which will ultimately help improve future applications," he added.

Other tasks included box lifting, indoor rescue operations, and smart grasping, allowing the robots to flaunt 360-degree rotating metal fingers and grip strength 10 times that of humans.

According to the China Electronics Society, the event's organizer, the competing robots are evaluated on gait efficiency, battery life, cognitive computing, and even facial recognition capabilities, with winners receiving honor certificates and a prize of 10,000 yuan (1,370 U.S. dollars).

No sweat, all gears. While the metal athletes won't bite their medals (yet), their legacy transcend trophies -- a glimpse into a future where AI and humanity push each other to new heights. ■