Robots race, play football, crash and collapse at China’s ‘robot Olympics’
机器人竞速、踢足球、碰撞翻滚亮相中国”机器人奥运会”
BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) – China kicked off the three-day long World Humanoid Robot Games on Friday, looking to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence and robotics with 280 teams from 16 countries.
路透北京 8 月 15 日电 – 中国于周五启动为期三天的世界人形机器人大会，来自 16 个国家的 280 支参赛队伍将集中展示人工智能与机器人领域的最新进展。
Robots competed in sports such as track and field, and table tennis, as well as tackled robot-specific challenges from sorting medicines and handling materials to cleaning services.
参赛机器人不仅参与田径、乒乓球等体育项目，还挑战了分拣药品、物料搬运、清洁服务等专属机器人任务。
Teams came from countries including the United States, Germany and Brazil, with 192 representing universities and 88 from private enterprises such as China’s Unitree and Fourier Intelligence. Competing teams used robots from Chinese manufacturers such as Booster Robotics.
参赛队伍来自美国、德国、巴西等国，其中 192 支来自高校，88 支来自优必选、傅利叶智能等企业。各队使用的参赛机器人均来自博斯特机器人等中国制造商。
“We come here to play and to win. But we are also interested in research,” said Max Polter, a member of HTWK Robots football team from Germany, affiliated with Leipzig University of Applied Sciences.
“我们来这里既是为了竞技夺冠，也是为了科研探索，”来自德国莱比锡应用科技大学的 HTWK 机器人足球队成员马克斯·波尔特表示。
“You can test a lot of interesting new and exciting approaches in this contest. If we try something and it doesn’t work, we lose the game. That’s sad but it is better than investing a lot of money into a product which failed.”
“这个赛事能让我们验证许多新奇有趣的方案。如果尝试失败，我们就会输掉比赛。虽然遗憾，但总比在产品上投入巨资后遭遇失败要好得多。”
At the robot games in Beijing, which charged 128 to 580 yuan ($17.83-$80.77) for tickets, humanoids crashed into each other and toppled over repeatedly during football matches, while others collapsed mid-sprint during running events.
在北京这场门票价格 128 至 580 元（约合 17.83-80.77 美元）的机器人赛事中，人形机器人在足球赛中频频相撞倒地，而在跑步项目中，有些机器人更是在冲刺时突然瘫倒。
During one football match, four robots crashed into each other and fell in a tangled heap. In the 1500-metre running event, one robot suddenly collapsed while running at full speed, drawing gasps and cheers from spectators.
一场足球赛中，四台机器人撞作一团跌倒在地。1500 米跑项目中，一台全速奔跑的机器人突然瘫倒，引发观众阵阵惊呼与喝彩。
Despite frequent tumbles requiring human assistance to help robots stand, many managed to right themselves independently, earning applause from audiences.
尽管机器人频频摔倒需要人工协助起身，但许多仍能自行恢复站立，赢得观众阵阵掌声。
Organisers said the games provide valuable data collection opportunities for developing robots for practical applications such as factory work.
主办方表示，这场赛事为开发适用于工厂作业等实际应用的机器人提供了宝贵的数据收集机会。
Football matches help train robots’ coordination abilities, which could prove useful for assembly line operations requiring collaboration between multiple units, commentators said.
解说员指出，足球比赛有助于训练机器人的协调能力，这对于需要多台设备协作的流水线作业可能具有实用价值。
China is investing billions of dollars in humanoids and robotics as the country grapples with an ageing population and growing competition with the U.S. over advanced technologies.
中国正斥资数十亿美元发展人形机器人和机器人技术，以应对人口老龄化问题，并在先进技术领域与美国展开日益激烈的竞争。
It has staged a series of high-profile robotics events in recent months, including what it called the world’s first humanoid robot marathon in Beijing, a robot conference and the opening of retail stores dedicated to humanoid robots.
近几个月来，中国举办了一系列备受瞩目的机器人赛事，包括在北京举行的全球首场人形机器人马拉松、机器人大会以及专营人形机器人的零售店开业。
Morgan Stanley analysts in a report last week noted a surge in attendance to a recent robot conference from the general public compared to previous years, saying this showed “how China, not just top government officials, has embraced the concept of embodied intelligence.”
摩根士丹利分析师在上周的一份报告中指出，与往年相比，近期某机器人会议的公众参与度激增，并表示这表明”不仅是中国高层官员，整个中国社会都已接受具身智能这一概念”。