Brutal Humanoid Robot Cage Match Stops Abruptly When One of the Robot Loses its Mind

Screenshot via Reddit

Watching two people pummel each other in a ring might make you uncomfortable. Replace the fighters with humanoid robots, though, and suddenly everyone wants to see the biggest, most spectacular crash imaginable.

China’s inaugural Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend (URKL) tournament in Shenzhen delivered exactly that, showcasing a brutal—but entirely bloodless—display of mechanical combat.

One of the event’s most memorable moments came during a cage match between two humanoid robots. After launching a flying kick square into its opponent’s face, one machine knocked the other’s head partially loose.

Remarkably, the damaged robot kept fighting. With its head dangling by a cable, it managed to throw a few more punches before the damage caught up with it.

After being knocked down again, the robot thrashed violently as it struggled to stand. The movement eventually snapped the remaining cable holding its head in place, sending it crashing to the floor. Its opponent celebrated the knockout by dancing triumphantly over the fallen machine.

According to China’s state-run Global Times, the URKL competition brought together 32 teams from around the world, all competing with EngineAI’s T800 humanoid robot platform.

EngineAI CEO Zhao Tongyang said the tournament had two primary goals: to establish a global commercial robot-fighting brand and to accelerate robotics research and industrial development.

“Let the event feed back into technology, and let technology drive the industry,” Zhao told Global Times.

Zhao has also demonstrated confidence in his company’s technology firsthand. In a video that went viral last December, he put on protective armor and allowed a T800 robot to strike him during a demonstration. One powerful kick knocked him flat to the ground.

While it’s unclear just how widely the tournament resonated across China, it undoubtedly offered a remarkable spectacle for those in attendance. Among the guests was martial arts icon and filmmaker Donnie Yen, who expressed amazement after watching the matches.

“Honestly, I used to see robot fighting only in science fiction movies,” Yen said during the event’s opening, according to Global Times. “But today, for the first time, I got to watch real robots fighting up close.”

“The weight of the machines, the precision of their movements—it was incredible,” he added.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/science/articles/brutal-humanoid-robot-cage-match-194942286.html