Return of Robot Wars: Chinese bots duke it out in martial arts tournament

What do you get when you combine the beloved Robot Wars show with today’s advancements in Artificial Intelligence? A martial arts tournament featuring humanoid robot contestants, of course!

The tournament was held on May 25 in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province. Notably, there were four robot contestants made by Unitree Robotics. All four were the company’s flagship robot model: the Unitree G1. The G1 robots employ a human-machine collaboration, with operators controlling the robots from a distance.

Though the robots need human operators, they also rely heavily on AI. The contest was a way for China to flex its robotics industry’s prowess and place itself on the radar of tech enthusiasts enamored by U.S.-based Boston Dynamics. Both Boston Dynamics (and other American companies like Tesla) and the Chinese robotics industry are investing in creating agile robots that can carry out tasks in environments that are too challenging for humans.

The tournament showcased the movement capabilities of the robots, and even scored them on it. Each match had a session before the actual combat portion where the robots were required to perform certain actions to help asses their abilities. The organizers used this time to fine-tune the rules of the tournament as well.

Unitree G1 robots deliver punches and kicks

Long gone are the days when homemade robots would smash into each other in an attempt to knock their opponent off their feet…or treads. The Unitree G1 robots punched, kicked, and swerved as they showed off just how versatile their movements have become. While the punches lacked power, the emphasis of the advancements made in mechanical mobility was not lost on the spectators.

Competing robots were scored on whether they could punch or kick their opponent’s head and body. Falling down was a deduction of five points, and 10 points were taken away if a robot failed to stand back up within eight seconds. The fights consisted of robots trying to topple their opponents more than severely damaging them, as the lightweight bots’ hits were nothing to worry about most of the time.

What’s powering these robots?

The Unitree G1 robots weigh around 35 kilograms (77 lbs) and stand approximately 132 centimeters (four feet and four inches) tall. They can move at about two meters per second, which is slightly faster than the average human pace of 1.5 meters a second. Hopefully, nothing to worry about for the time being.

To help them navigate their surroundings, the Unitree G1 robots are equipped with Intel RealSense and Livox 3D Lidar sensors. These sensors help the G1 robots map all 360 degrees of their surroundings.

Shenzhen-based EngineAI — which organized the event — said that the tournament was a way to showcase the advancements in China’s robotics industry in a visually exciting way. Action-packed fights will show attendees the agility of these robots, which will then drive sales and wider adoption of robotics in other fields.

These robots use AI to constantly evolve their mannerisms. There’s no popular and well-known AI model — like GPT, Gemini, or Meta AI — at play here, as those are LLMs (Large Language Models) for mostly text-based actions. Instead, the Unitree G1 robots use machine learning and simulation training to adapt.

The G1’s more dexterous counterpart, the G1 EDU, can even open bottles, crush walnuts, solder wiring, and perform acrobatic tricks with a stick. Both models are capable of extremely smooth running over challenging terrain and learning complex moves (like dancing) via software training.

As AI evolves, it’s only natural that robotics improves as well. Another tournament featuring even larger humanoid robots is set to take place this December in Shenzhen. It’s only a matter of time before we see international competitions with representatives from various countries competing, and I cannot wait.