The world's first Humanoid Robot Kickboxing contest took place on May 25 in Hangzhou, China. While the event aimed to highlight the integration of AI and robotics, the robots weren't acting autonomously, but were being remotely controlled by human operator teams.

The event was the first in the World Robot Competition Series organized by the state-owned China Media Group (CMG) to showcase advancements in robotics and AI. It comes  five weeks after 20 robots raced in a half-marathon in Beijing, organized to showcase China’s advances in humanoid robot technology. 

All four participants, "AI Strategist", "Silk Artisan", "Armored Mulan", and "Energy Guardian" were G1 robots from Chinese company Unitree. These robots which are just over 4 feet tall [130 cm] and weigh around 77 pounds [35 kg] have been designed to operate in environments that are challenging for humans and feature enhanced flexibility and agility in a compact form.

For this event they donned gloves and headgear and had been trained in various combat techniques including hooks, side-kicks, and swivel-kicks. The fights ran three rounds and were scored based on clean hits to the head and torso, just like standard kickboxing. One match even ended in a proper knockout when a robot stayed down for more than eight seconds. The victorious robot, "AI Strategist", was operated by Chinese tech influencer Lu Xin.

This event wasn't just about combat, but was instead a platform to showcase China's advancements in AI, robotics and engineering, with a Unitree spokesperson explaining:

robot battles provide high-pressure, fast-paced scenarios that test robotic structure, motion control and AI decision-making capabilities. The contest is expected to drive innovation in perception, control and execution technology, while creating a "train-through-competition" talent pipeline for China's fast-growing robotics sector.

It is to be followed up by a competition featuring full-sized, human-scale humanoid robots which is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen in December. There are also plans to host tournaments for robot football and basketball. 

More Information

Report from China

Unitree G1

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