Chinese humanoid robot fight league: key takeaways
- EngineAI has launched robot fight league for entertainment and research purposes
- The action in the ring is useful: every bout tests balance, recovery and reaction speed
- A RMB 14 million prize purse gives teams a real incentive to build tougher, smarter machines
A Chinese robotics company, EngineAI, has gone and brought us something both scary and highly entertaining: a humanoid robot fight league. The quirkily named, Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend pits the company’s T800 robots – and yes that is the model number of Arnie’s Terminator – against each other in a UFC-style showdown.
Humanoid robotics still has an image problem. Consumers till see them as capable only of demonstration
That might sound intense, but it’s really pretty comical. In one of the first matchups two robots named White Eagle and Matador flailed around the ring. They failed to land any serious blows until White Eagle glanced a flying kick off Matador’s head. The eagle fell to the floor in the process but took Matador’s head down with him. Matador struggled on with his head hanging on by a wire, then fell.
It’s probable this will turn into something far more nail-biting. In fact, that’s pretty much the idea. Each team – and there are 32 competing in this year’s league – can tweak details on its T800 to make it more effective in the ring.
EngineAI learns a lot from what’s fed back to them in post-fight information
What EngineAI learns from these tweaks can be engineered into future models to make them more effective in roles outside the ring. They’ll be looking at aspects like balance, self-righting (which White Eagle demonstrated a keen ability at after knocking Matador’s head off) and reaction times.
This kind of information is highly valuable. The prize money EngineAI has put on the tournament shows they consider it so. First place wins RMB 14 million (about US $2 million) and a belt of solid gold. It’s a smart way to inspire innovation, and it comes with a slew of perks.
The Dao view: The Chinese humanoid robot fight league is a strong play in a challenged industry
EngineAI has done something very smart here. The Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend’s launch solves a lot of problems for them beyond the simple question of faster innovation.
Being the first to deploy robots in such a high-spectacle entertainment capacity also gives EngineAI credit as an innovator, an image that’s important to project in this industry.
They also have to consider that humanoid robotics still has an image problem. Consumers don’t really believe the robots are capable of more than performance. Watching them attempt to fight here may not inspire confidence, but it does generate interest. That interest is goodwill in the bank when embodied AI does have applications in the real world.
It might be a long time until these robots can fight with the grace of a human kickboxer, but considering the company has named their flagship model after The Terminator, perhaps that’s for the best…
