First International Humanoid Robot Olympics Concludes in China

ABC’s Mary Huang reports from Beijing:
China played host to a different kind of Olympics this week. Eighteen universities from around the world participated in the first-ever International Humanoid Robot Olympics at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in northeastern China. The three-day competition kicked off on Monday and featured 24 events. Robots performed everything from traditional Olympic activities, such as gymnastics and track and field, to domestic chores and medical care.
 
Organized by the State Key Laboratory For Robot Science and System from HIT and the China National Conference of Artificial Intelligence, the event stayed true to its definition of “humanoid,” requiring participating robots to have a human shape, a head, two arms and two legs. Wheeled robots and robots taller than 23.6 inches were also barred from competition. Game rules were similar to those used in the human Olympics.
 
The Chinese teams excelled in soccer while the American robots performed well in the steeplechase, HIT professor Hong Bingrong told the official Xinhua news agency. Other participating countries included South Korea, Germany and Japan.
 
Plans for the event were first announced last November. Organizers intended for the games to promote the scientific development of humanoid robots and exhibit their potential to serve humans at home and at work. == Robots are equally popular in South Korea, where the wired city of Seoul even has robotic waiters.  Check out Juju Chang’s report on GMA: