Robots tackle everyday chores at industry event
Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Dong Jun.
Handling vehicle spare parts, picking up rubbish, moving boxes, climbing slopes.. these were the tasks undertaken by dozens of humanoid robots at a special robotic technique competition on Thursday.
The 2025 Zhangjiang Embodied AI Developer Conference and the International Humanoid Robot Skills Competition at the Zhangjiang Science Hall brought together more than 200 industry players in the humanoid and embodied intelligence fields and over 5,000 developers, entrepreneurs, industry experts and officials.
More than 60 local and international teams contested in 28 sub-categories and a "robot talent show" session also drew large crowds.
Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Dong Jun.
The competition was as a platform for industry exchanges combining the hardware and software of humanoid robots and also allowed service providers find suitable partners and potential suppliers.
The winning teams will participate in the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai later this year.
Zhangjiang Robotics Valley hopes to attract over 50 leading companies in the robot spare parts industry by 2027, according to Pudong New Area deputy director Li Hui. The valley, covering about 4.2 square kilometers, is set to boost robotic development with a complete ecosystem targeting different players in the value chain.
In the core of Zhangjiang Science City, the valley prioritizes the development of high-end medical treatment, as well as specialized industry and smart service robotics, while also strengthening the development of key components and controlling software technology for robots.
A humanoid robot shows off its football skills.
Assistant general manger Wang Xiaogang of the Zhangjiang Humanoid Robot Co Ltd, a co-organizer of the event, said the competitions encourage developers to solve real life problems and handle tasks to save the trouble of daily chores.
Unlike walking or running contests, more complicated skills such as scanning barcodes, cleaning rubbish and loading batteries, developers are more likely to focus on industry specific robotic models suitable for daily life tasks through this kind of competition and showcase, according to Liu Jinchang, a former researcher from the High Technology Research and Development Center at the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
