GoKawiil
Tech News
Hyundai CEO José Muñoz said the automaker intends to use its existing dealer network to sell robots like Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid and Spot quadruped, alongside cars. Hyundai Capital, the company's auto financing arm, is also exploring ways to offer financing for these costly machines. Hyundai plans a factory to produce 30,000 Atlas units annually by 2028, with deployment starting at its Georgia plant.
More than 600 teams, mostly from Chinese universities and robotics firms, brought humanoid machines to Beijing's second World Humanoid Robot Games from August 22 to 26. Alongside sprint, jump and combat contests, organizers added scenario-based challenges like shelving books and making beds, scoring autonomous performances higher than remotely operated ones. Robots set records in speed and jumping, but researchers noted that everyday chores remain far tougher for machines than flashy athletic feats.
The World Humanoid Robot Games concluded in Beijing on August 26, drawing over 600 teams and more than 2,000 robots from China and 15 other countries. Highlights included the Tiangong Ultra robot completing a 100-meter dash in 8.86 seconds and Honor's Lightning robot finishing in 9.47 seconds, alongside newer challenges testing fine manipulation skills like using tweezers.
In a lengthy essay on Gates Notes, Bill Gates outlined ideas to cushion AI's disruption of the labor market, including taxing companies that replace workers with automation and formally designating certain jobs as off-limits to AI. He also voiced qualified support for the 'Pacing The Frontier' open letter calling for a slowdown in AI development, while doubting such restraint could hold long-term.
At the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing (August 22-26), robots competing in a 100-meter sprint and standing high jump beat human world records set by Usain Bolt and others, marking a jump from last year's event where they trailed human performance. Some sprinting robots couldn't stop in time, crashing into barriers, falling, and in a few cases breaking apart with sparks or catching fire, while separate tasks like hanging laundry showed robots still moving far slower than humans.
A public showcase event in Shanghai let visitors interact directly with humanoid robots, part of China's broader effort to promote and accelerate its robotics industry. Organizers say such events matter because hands-on exposure builds public familiarity, even as humanoid robot development globally remains slow and uneven.
A robotics industrial cluster in Shanghai that houses over 100 companies opened its doors for a carnival-style event where visitors could watch quadrupedal robots climb stairs, remote-controlled bots duel with water beads, and humanoid machines perform tasks like brewing coffee and folding laundry. DexForce and other firms used the event to let families interact directly with their technology.
At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, the Tiangong Ultra robot ran a preliminary 100-meter heat in 9.39 seconds, beating Honor's Lightning robot (9.47s) and outpacing Usain Bolt's 9.58-second world record. Both robots crashed into padding at the finish line, with some needing human assistance to be carried off, and the event is part of a multi-day competition featuring soccer, table tennis, boxing and other robotic sports through August 26.
Unitree Robotics released footage of its headless humanoid, Superman, jumping 6.5 feet and sprinting over 28 mph, both exceeding known human records. Two days later the Hangzhou company debuted on Shanghai's stock exchange, with shares spiking 629% above the offer price and pushing its intraday valuation near $66 billion before settling at $50.8 billion.
At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, the bipedal robot Tiangong Ultra completed a 100-meter dash in 9.39 seconds during a preliminary heat, edging past Honor's Lightning robot at 9.47 seconds and beating Usain Bolt's 2009 human record of 9.58 seconds. Tiangong Ultra also posted a 400-meter time of 38.16 seconds, faster than Wayde van Niekerk's 2016 world record.
At Beijing's second World Humanoid Robot Games, the Tiangong Ultra robot ran a preliminary 100-meter heat in 9.39 seconds, faster than Usain Bolt's 9.58-second human record, and beat Honor's Lightning robot, which finished in 9.47 seconds. Many competitors, including the winners, crashed into padding or needed human help afterward, though the times mark a big jump from last year's 21.5-second winning run.
At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, the bipedal robot Tiangong Ultra clocked a 9.39-second 100-meter sprint, edging out Honor's Lightning at 9.47 seconds and both beating Usain Bolt's 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds. Neither robot could stop cleanly, with each crashing into padded foam barriers past the finish line.