Faster, higher, glitchier The robot games of China

A left hook, a front kick to the chest, a few criss-cross jabs, and the crowd cheers.

- Amy Hawkins

But it's not kickboxing prowess that concludes the match. It's an attempted roundhouse kick that squarely misses its target, sending the kickboxer from a top university team tumbling to the floor.

While traditional kickboxing comes with the risk of blood, sweat and serious head injuries, the competitors in yesterday's match at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing faced a different set of challenges. Balance, battery life and a sense of philosophical purpose being among them.

The kickboxers, pint-sized humanoid robots entered by teams from leading Chinese technological universities, are part of a jamboree of humanoid events taking place at China's latest flagship technology event this weekend. After spectators in the 12,000-capacity National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics, stood for the Chinese national anthem yesterday morning, the government-backed games began.

"I came here out of curiosity," said Hong Yun, a 58-year-old retired engineer, sitting in the front row. Seeing the robots race "is much more exciting than seeing real humans".

The games put China's prowess in humanoid robotics, a technological field that has been pushed to the forefront of the country's artificial intelligence industry, on display. The hype machine is in full swing.

As well as kickboxing, humanoids competed in athletics, football and dancing. One robot racer had to drop out of the 1,500m race because his head flew off partway round the course.