Highlights as the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games open in Beijing

The second World Humanoid Robot Games officially opened on Saturday evening at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, once again putting the Chinese capital in the global spotlight as it hosts a major event at the intersection of technology and sports.

The five-day event has brought together 666 teams from 16 countries across six continents, with 2,056 robots set to compete in 51 events. At the opening ceremony, themed "Intelligence Competing Toward the Future," more than 1,000 humanoid robots gathered at the venue to showcase cutting-edge technologies, offering a glimpse into how humanoid robots are moving beyond laboratories and increasingly entering real-world production and everyday life while opening up new possibilities for human-robot coexistence.

The opening ceremony also featured a special parade of participating teams, with multiple robot formations performing highly synchronized routines, including coordinated formation changes and a series of challenging stunts.

Eighty Booster T2 humanoid robots marched in synchronized steps, with each independently calculating its route and dynamically adjusting its posture. During the parade, the robots also changed formations to spell out "BEIJING." As the host city of the event, Beijing is also a major hub for China's robotics innovation.

They were followed by a formation from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, where 50 Tiangong Embodied Intelligence 3.0 robots autonomously navigated a curved route in synchronized formation. The robots are also capable of smoothly performing the challenging Thomas flare. Meanwhile, 25 Galbot G1 wheeled robots developed by Galaxy General formed another robotic contingent. They are designed to tackle long-duration, complex and continuous tasks autonomously in real-world scenarios, including homes, retail and food services.

An international delegation of athletes also appeared at the ceremony. Made up of competitors from around the world, they have competed in multiple RoboCup World Cup events, earning a number of honors.

"Let's give our warmest welcome to all our silicon-based partners!" the announcer declared as representatives of all 666 teams and more than a thousand robot athletes taking part in this year's competition gathered at the venue.

A Chinese humanoid robot also set a new benchmark in the standing high jump, clearing 2.88 meters. The feat came during a demonstration ahead of the opening ceremony and surpassed the best recorded standing high jump by a human athlete, which stands at 2.45 meters.

The ceremony also featured a musical performance bringing humanoid robots and human musicians together. In the opening sequence, titled "Melody of the Future," 36 humanoid robots used human-like five-finger dexterous hands to play instruments, including electronic wind instruments, pianos and marimbas, performing alongside human musicians.

In another highlight ahead of the opening ceremony, a Chinese humanoid robot clocked 9.39 seconds in a 100-meter preliminary heat, surpassing the 9.58-second world record set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. The performance also broke the previous record set at the first World Humanoid Robot Games.

Human-robot interaction was also one of the highlights of the opening ceremony. Humanoid robots exchanged shots with Chinese tennis star Zheng Jie, played table tennis with Olympic champion Ding Ning and competed in a penalty shootout with former Chinese footballer Yang Chen, giving the audience a firsthand look at their coordination of "brains," hands and feet, as well as their dynamic perception and real-world capabilities.

(Cover via the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games shows humans and humanoid robots dancing together at the opening ceremony.)