Viral social media videos from China’s robot Olympics gave U.S. audiences fresh laughs online this week, but they ended with one big message: America is seriously missing out. By walling itself off from Chinese technology, the most it can hope for is to be the best of the rest. Beijing hosted its second World Humanoid Robot Games from August 22 to 26.
Although teams from over a dozen nations including the United States took part, China’s robotics industry is so large, it basically was competing against itself. America used to know this feeling, but now the world’s top manufacturers of robotic devices are all from China, and they’re projected to ship up to 60,000 units this year. By 2027, the industry could be worth nearly $3 billion, but U.S. companies won’t see much of that money.
On China’s most popular social media apps, Chinese users were laughing too as bipedal robots tipped over or broke in half. But it was a different kind of laugh. They know they’re winning, and that the robotics race may already be over.
The robot Olympics are about much more than entertainment. More than 600 teams used 2,000 robots in dozens of events this year to demonstrate proofs of concept alongside viable commercial products. Audiences were naturally drawn to headlining track and field events such as sprints and the high jump, but what investors really turned up to see was progress in real-world commercial applications in the retail and service space.
Service robots competed in tasks including hotel housekeeping, office cleaning and store shelf restocking. AGIBOT, one of China’s leading designers, won gold for a firefighting robot and another for a library book organizer. There are real financial benefits to being a successful first mover in any market, and big and small players in China’s robot industry are pitching from both ends—hardware and software.
There aren’t enough venues for them to showcase the speed of their advancement. Robots may never be as versatile as a human, but they can be programed to do specific tasks well. Two machine runners beat Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record this year in the 100-meter dash, more than halving the time set at last year’s Games.
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