Beijing: At the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, four robots dressed in 3D-printed terracotta warrior armor beat drums in synchrony, while five others at the front danced in seamless harmony alongside a live performer, creating a striking cross-millennial dialogue between technology and art.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the robot troupe won the first gold medal in the group dance event of the games on Friday. Their performance was inspired by the Terracotta Warriors built by Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.), who unified China for the first time. “We are confident in showcasing traditional Chinese culture by integrating dance moves into robots’ movements,” said Gao Qian, deputy head of the academic affairs office of Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), noting the rapid evolution of humanoid robot technology.
BDA and Optics Valley Dongzhi, the developer of the 1.7-meter-tall, 70-kg humanoid robots, collaborated for three months ahead of the performance. Initially, the basic settings of robots could not meet the fluidity standards required. However, the issue was resolved by programming dance moves performed by a BDA human dancer in a motion-capture suit into the robots. Lou Kaiqi, deputy general manager of Optics Valley Dongzhi, said the engineering team upgraded the robots’ hardware, such as motors and components, and optimized algorithms to ensure mobility, stability, and coordination.
The World Humanoid Robot Games, the first of its kind globally, attracted 280 teams from 16 countries competing in 26 events from Friday through Sunday. These ranged from athletic challenges like running, high jump, and football to exhibition performances including dance and Wushu, and skills-based tasks like moving materials, sorting drugs, and cleaning.
During the standing high jump event on Saturday, RobotEra L7, a bipedal humanoid robot, leapt using both straddle and bent-leg techniques, ultimately claiming the gold medal with a height of 95.641 cm. Shi Xuanyang, an engineer from RobotEra, explained that the games serve as a platform to demonstrate the robot’s hardware performance and stable motion system.
An optical motion capture technology system developed by Noitom Limited featured prominently in the games, offering sub-millimeter positioning accuracy and millisecond-level latency. The system tracked the spatial positions of robot competitors, serving as an objective “referee” for movements too fast for the naked eye to capture accurately.
Zhou Changjiu, president of the RoboCup Asia-Pacific Confederation, emphasized the games’ role in highlighting China’s strengths in humanoid robot design and industry chains. He noted the potential for humanoid robots to integrate into households due to their human-like operation capabilities. “It is only a matter of time before humanoid robots enter households,” Zhou remarked.