China’s humanoid robots take centre stage for Lunar New Year Showtime

China’s most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, on Monday showcased the country’s cutting-edge industrial policy and Beijing's push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.

- Reuters

A humanoid robot wearing a traditional headdress is displayed during a media preview of a robotic temple fair ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China.

(AP)

Four rising humanoid robot startups - Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noctix and MagicLabdemonstrated their products at the gala, a televised event and touchstone for China comparable to the Super Bowl for the United States.

‘The programme's first three sketches prominently featured humanoid robots, including a lengthy martial arts demonstration where over a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fight sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in close proximity to human children performers.

The fight sequences included a technically ambitious one that imitated the wobbly moves and backward falls of China’s “drunken boxing” martial arts style, showing innovations in multi-robot coordination and fault recov- -where a robot can get up after falling down.