ASIA

[kmaherali]

Life-like robots for sale to the public as China opens new store


A life-size humanoid replica of Albert Einstein at the store

A new robot shop has opened in Beijing selling everything from mechanical butlers to human-like replicas of Albert Einstein.

More than 100 types of products will be on sale at Robot Mall, which launched in the Chinese capital on Friday. The store is one of the first in the country to sell humanoid and consumer-oriented robots.

The outlet has been compared to a car dealership as it offers services including sales, spare parts and maintenance.

China has invested heavily in the robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) as it looks to overcome challenges such as slowing economic growth and an ageing population.

"If robots are to enter thousands of households, relying solely on robotics companies is not enough," Wang Yifan, a store director, told Reuters.

The robots on sale range in price from 2,000 yuan ($278, £207) to several million yuan.

Shutterstock A female humanoid at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre during an organised visit in Beijing, China, 6 August 2025.Shutterstock


A robot at the reception of a restaurant at the new store in Beijing

Visitors will be able to interact with a wide range of robots, including dogs and chess players, organisers said.

There is also a separate section offering replacement parts and robot maintenance services.

Robot Mall is located next to a themed restaurant, where diners are served by robots and the food is cooked by mechanical chefs.

China has increasingly prioritised the robotics industry, with subsidies topping $20bn over the past year.

The Chinese government is also planning a 1 trillion yuan fund for AI and robotics start ups.

Reuters Staff members move a humanoid robot portraying emperor Qin Shi Huang from the Qin dynasty, which fell to the floor during an organised media tour to Robot Mall, a store selling humanoid and other robots, in Beijing, China August 6, 2025.Reuters


More than 200 Chinese and overseas brands are represented at Robot Mall

The opening of Robot Mall coincides with the start of the five-day World Robot Conference, which started in Beijing on Friday.

Chinese state media said this year's event will see more than 1,500 exhibits from over 200 local and overseas robotic companies.

Beijing is also preparing to host the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games from 14 to 17 August.

Teams from more than 20 countries will compete in events including track and field, dance and football.


Reuters Media members work by a walking Tiangong humanoid robot during an organised media tour to Robot Mall, a store selling humanoid and other robots, in Beijing, China August 6, 2025.Reuters

The new store is one of the first of its kind in China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm2jed7xvyo

[kmaherali]

The Athletes at China’s Robot Games Fell Down a Lot

The Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing — featuring running, kickboxing and soccer — highlighted advancements in robotics. Limitations, too.

Video; https://nyti.ms/4fElL3M

Humanoid robots competed in a sports competition in Beijing where they ran, kicked and punched — as well as crashed and fell over many times.CreditCredit...Mahesh Kumar A./Associated Press

By Yan Zhuang
Aug. 18, 2025
阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版
There’s a very real concern that robots could eventually make some of our jobs obsolete. But at a robot-only sports competition in China over the weekend, the immediate concern was that they would fall over or crash into each other.

The Humanoid Robot Games, a three-day event in Beijing that ended on Sunday, featured more than 280 teams from universities and private companies in 16 countries. Some robots landed back flips and successfully navigated obstacle courses and rough terrain.

In other cases, the robots’ athletic ability left, well, something to be desired.

During soccer matches, child-size ones tripped over each other, falling down like dominoes. One goalkeeper robot stood placidly as its opponent kicked a ball at its legs several times before finally managing to score.

One robot by China’s Unitree Robotics plowed into a human staff member while sprinting during a track event, knocking him down.

In kickboxing matches, robots wearing colorful gloves and head gear struggled to land punches.

“To be honest, the hit rate is a little low,” a commentator said in the event’s official livestream. “They’re punching the air.”

After a few minutes of flailing jabs and kicks, the referee declared one robot the winner. It raised its gloved hands and pumped them in the air to the sound of spectators applauding, while its opponent laid down in an apparent show of defeat.

The event was China’s latest high-profile robotics showcase. During China’s Lunar New Year’s Eve television gala, watched by hundreds of millions of people, humanoid robots performed folk dances. In April, the Beijing municipal government held a half-marathon for 12,000 runners and 20 humanoid robots.

China is trying to make rapid advancements in robotics, propelled by government directives and massive investments. Robots powered by artificial intelligence have already revolutionized manufacturing in the country. That has brought down operating costs and in some cases helped companies withstand President Trump’s tariffs.

Beijing officials told the domestic news media that the Humanoid Robot Games were a test of cutting-edge advancements in robotics technology.

The test revealed limitations, but also possibilities.

“Despite the pratfalls, significant progress in robot locomotion and balance is being achieved including back flips, side flips, and other acrobatic and martial arts moves,” said Ken Goldberg, a robotics professor at the University of California, Berkeley

One robot from Unitree Robotics won the gold medal for the 1,500 meter indoor track event with a time of six minutes and 34.40 seconds. The speed was impressive, Professor Goldberg said. Although the robot was far slower than the human who holds the record in that event (Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, who finished in 3:29.63), it was faster than many nonprofessional human runners.

Some entrepreneurs believe that humanoid robots will one day do many physical tasks now handled by people, including household chores, warehouse jobs and factory labor. But for now, even simple tasks like loading the dishwasher are anything but simple for them.

Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, said that the Humanoid Robot Games helped to “give the public a realistic impression of where things really are.”

Professor Fern said the games highlighted rapid advancements in the industry. One is that manufacturing of humanoid robots has developed enough that researchers no longer need to pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy them, or build their own, as they did only a year or two ago.

Another is that advancements in artificial intelligence allow the machines to do a wider range of basic tasks. Five years ago, “it was rare to see a humanoid robot that could reliably walk, let alone run, jump, or handle rough terrain,” he said.

But Professor Fern said the type of robots used in the games are generally not equipped for higher-level functions like planning or reasoning and usually need a human operator to help guide them.

“The robots are still dumb,” he said.

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