Robot 'Olympics': over 500 humanoids run, play football and box in Beijing

Beijing hosted an unusual sports event in August, where the athletes were robots rather than people. The first World Humanoid Robot Games opened on August 14 and ended on August 17.

More than 500 humanoid robots from 280 teams in 16 countries took part. The 26 events ranged from running, football, kickboxing and dancing to tasks such as cleaning and sorting medicines.

The fastest robot in the 100-metre sprint clocked about 21.5 seconds. In five-a-side football, Tsinghua University's team from China beat a joint German team to take the title.

What got the most attention, though, was the falling. Football-playing robots tumbled over each other at the slightest contact, relay runners collided, and kickboxing robots toppled over when they missed a kick.

For all the laughs, experts said the games showed both how far humanoid robots have come and how far they still have to go.