Runaway Legs, Lying Flat, and Fire: 21 Viral Moments From the 2026 Humanoid Robot Games

Let the first batch of humanoid robots learn to move.

👦🏻 Author: Ms. Yi

🥷 Editor: Koji

🧑‍🎨 Layout: NCon

On the evening of August 22, at Beijing's "Ice Ribbon" National Speed Skating Oval, humanity threw a sports gala for steel mechs.

It was an unprecedented humanoid robot spectacle — 2,056 robots from 16 countries competing. Neat formations of mechs, comedic human-robot dance routines, robots with legs flying off, robots suddenly lying flat... thousands of poses took turns in the spotlight.

The fastest 100-meter time dropped from 21.50 seconds at last year's inaugural event to 9.32 seconds by HONOR's "Lightning" this year — just 365 days. Usain Bolt's 9.58-second human record was broken by a bunch of steel mechs that don't even breathe.

Over these five days, 2,056 humanoid robots left too many hilarious moments at the "Ice Ribbon." We picked out 21 robot "iconic scenes":

01 The Wonder Code, Written Again

At the opening ceremony, the national anthem played.

Referee representative Guisen Li and athlete representative HONOR robot "Lightning" took their solemn oaths center stage. Behind them, a group of robots wearing red scarves saluted the flag in unison.

A formation of 80 Booster T2 units from Booster Robotics freely combined and shifted formations. One moment they formed the games emblem, the next they assembled into soccer, tennis, and ping-pong icons, then spelled out "BEIJING."

"This isn't choreographed uniformity — it's 80 independent decision-makers achieving collective order through individual decisions," said the technical lead on site.

That might be the second wonder code written by silicon-based life, after the crop circles.

02 The Machines, Arranged to a T

The Olympics have a cauldron; the robot games have their own ritual. A "torch relay" for robots kicked off early in the year.

From Milan, Italy to tea mountains in Fujian, dragon boat race venues in Sichuan, and Sayram Lake in Xinjiang, a token passed from robot to robot — fingertip tea-picking, paddle racing, horseback archery, each stop a meticulously designed real-world scenario.

This "tech flame" that crossed mountains and seas — "Wisdom Core" — was finally ignited at the "Ice Ribbon" opening ceremony. The 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games were officially launched.

From tea mountains to dragon boats, from lakeside to Ice Ribbon — the robots were arranged to a T, ritual maxed out.

03 Human-Machine Rally, Champion Sparring

On the tennis court, Galaxy Universal's Galbot G1 faced off across the net from tennis star Jie Zheng — the world's first human-robot tennis match, officially underway.

At the ping-pong table, AgiBot's Expedition A3 trained with Olympic champion Ning Ding. No remote control, no intervention, predicting and returning shots in milliseconds — the robot learned autonomously and evolved in real time through actual combat.

On the soccer field, veteran Chen Yang shot at 85 km/h; Booster Robotics' Booster T2 returned fire at 64 km/h...

Did the champions come to train the robots, or did the robots come to train the champions?

04 Taiji Master, Thomas Spin Kick, and Rhythmic Gymnastics

When humans grew unsatisfied with machines merely walking upright, the arena became their stage for eighteen martial arts.

In the wushu venue, AgiBot's Expedition A3 stood in starting position and flowed through the full set — a veritable "Taiji master."

The freestyle fighting ring was more entertaining. One robot, fresh from learning the "tornado kick," couldn't wait to show it off. A beautiful sacrifice throw — and it knocked itself flat. Netizens quipped: zero damage to enemy, self-damage 1,000.

"Rhythmic gymnastics" took it further. One netizen posted a high-difficulty move video, so smooth it seemed AI-generated... hard to tell.

05 "So Lit"

According to multiple media reports, during the 400-meter preliminary on the evening of August 22, Tiangong robot shot forward at the starting gun, leading all the way.

But at the second curve, its feet slipped and it flew out of the lane. The violent impact broke the frame structure, crushed the waist wiring, and caused short circuits — flames and sparks erupted on the spot. The hardware was destroyed, immediate withdrawal.

Staff rushed in with stretchers to clear the scene; the audience screamed — robot PK, both victory and death on the line.

More spark-flying iconic moments kept playing out. The robot games, so lit.

There were also groups of tiny red, purple, yellow, and green robots. They didn't compete — just the "hype squad," weaving through every corner of the Ice Ribbon.

06 When the Algorithm Glitched

On the afternoon of August 24, during the freestyle gymnastics competition.

One robot suddenly malfunctioned — but it didn't fall or freeze. It started doing ballet. Trembling movements, paired with netizens' god-tier editing, became a cursed ballet.

"Not a winter drunkard — this is spring ballet." "Like the floor is too hot, or like it could handle three more drinks."

Just an algorithm glitch, and human-machine co-creation made a fun piece of history.

But some robots just went on strike on site. In the end, they had to be carried off after power-down.

And one robot kicked its leg off during high jump...

07 A Ride from the Future

The most distinctive scene at the opening ceremony: a Tiangong robot riding on the back of a quadruped robot horse.

DaxAI's all-terrain intelligent mount carried it steadily into the arena, Tiangong waving the games flag high. The honor of "igniting the Wisdom Core" at the opening ceremony also fell to it.

08 Ground-Hugging Flight

Behind the various iconic scenes on the arena, the most intuitive was still "running speed."

One blogger captured video of robots flying with feet barely touching ground. Netizens commented: "This isn't running, it's flying."

From struggling to take two steps, to ground-hugging flight. In just 365 days, multiple manufacturers' robots simultaneously achieved performance leaps, collectively stepping up to a new level.

09 Xingxing Wang, Watching Alone

In the stands, this row was originally filled with founders of embodied AI companies.

An hour earlier, the founders whose companies hadn't gone public had left one by one. Only Xingxing Wang, founder of recently-listed Unitree, remained sitting there watching the robot competitions.

On August 19, the much-watched Unitree was listed on the STAR Market. On its first trading day, market cap briefly hit 444.9 billion yuan.

Less than a week later. On August 24, market cap fell back to 243.9 billion yuan, nearly 200 billion evaporated from the peak.

10 Unitree Underperforms, Tiangong "Rises"

Unitree, which swept 11 medals and dominated multiple speed events at the last games, fell far short of expectations this time:

12.41 seconds in the 100-meter large-robot preliminary, dead last in the heat; no medals in multiple sprints; DNF in the 100-meter obstacle final... Unitree responded: limited by new machine quantity and testing time, they reduced events and focused mainly on mass production.

On the other side of Unitree's underperformance, Tiangong quietly "rose."

As of August 25, "Tiangong" robot developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center had won 5 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze medals, sweeping all athletics golds that day.

11 Camera Guy, Ran for It

August 23, long jump final. Tiangong Ultra jumped a winning 7.97 meters, but couldn't brake on landing and stumbled forward.

The photographer ahead saw this, dropped equipment, and promptly "ran off."

Another robot, mid-sprint, suddenly improvised, ran out of the lane, charged toward the broadcast booth, and looked left and right — completely unannounced.

12 World Records, Running Out

Human athletics world records were broken in batches by robots at these games.

• On the 100-meter track, Tianzhuo Team ran 9.39 seconds, and HONOR "Lightning" hit 9.32 seconds in testing — both surpassing Bolt's 9.58-second human record;
• On the 400-meter track, Tiangong Ultra won in 38.15 seconds, and HONOR "Lightning" also clocked 40.6 seconds, leaving the human record of 43.03 seconds far behind.
• In high jump, Tiangong Ultra cleared 2.8843 meters from a standstill, breaking the human record of 2.45 meters;

...

Someone joked: world records are running out.

13 Keep the Music Playing, Keep Dancing

At the games, 36 Linkerbot humanoid robots from Lingxin Qiaoshou, using anthropomorphic five-finger dexterous hands, controlled electric wind instruments, piano, drums, marimba, and guitar to perform Future Movement with human artists.

In 1737, French engineer Jacques de Vaucanson created what is considered the world's first true robot: the "Flute Player." A life-sized wooden automaton that could play 12 tunes on a real transverse flute.

300 years of vast change, technology and people repeatedly replaced. But in the world of music, there is no boundary between carbon-based and silicon-based life.

14 Enthusiastic Kids

The audience stands at these games were packed with kids here for the spectacle.

One reporter marveled: the ones who understand robots best, love tech competitions most, and are most willing to pay for tech aren't experts or enthusiasts — it's elementary schoolers.

And these kids were spouting "professional干货": the robot's eyes have a visual recognition system...

The organizing committee's ticketing side said tickets sold out early; the 598-yuan and 128-yuan packages were especially hot, because many families were "kids bringing parents" to watch.

At the World Robot Conference WRC held days earlier, parent-child families also made up over half. "100 yuan for a full day of childcare — Beijing parents treat WRC as a family amusement park."

15 The "Social Anxiety" Champion's Running Form

Tiangong Omni, the champion, went viral for its run.

While other robots ran upright with standard arm swings, it alone covered its face with both hands and charged forward head-down — exactly like a "socially anxious" person fleeing in panic. Some also joked it somewhat resembled (bushi) Ruonan Zhang's run.

Engineers responded: this running form wasn't human-designed — the robot learned it itself, the optimal solution it found through massive training.

Netizens' creative urges were ignited: someone AI-generated a Bolt-style version, others personally imitated Omni's running form...

16 Tug-of-War, A Piece of Performance Art

The most primal human competition — tug-of-war — was also brought to the robot arena, set up as 2v2 matches. The robots wobbled on site, surrounded by people holding guard.

Someone joked: reminiscent of the film Bullfighting, like a small-scale piece of performance art.

17 Serious Soccer Commentary

At the 7v7 soccer exhibition match, the commentator used passionate tones to deliver serious commentary on a bunch of titanium alloy skeletons.

"Tactical foul," "nutmeg," "anti-offside" — professional术语 poured out one after another, as if commentating a World Cup final. Not sure if the machines understood.

This was a soccer commentator's first time becoming a robot commentator. Using human soccer's professional standards to interpret a code-and-algorithm-driven match.

18 "Far Ahead"

The sole Japanese robot, Hitomin, from GMO Internet Group, had its underlying hardware built by Unitree.

In fact, GMO is Unitree's agent in Japan, responsible for developing the core software algorithms controlling its running.

During the race, this robot slowed due to motor overheating and finally fell. When it fell, its black-gloved mechanical hand touched down slowly.

According to multiple media citing foreign reports, Japanese and American scholars were not only surprised by Chinese robots' technical lead, but also moved by China's encouragement and包容 of technological innovation.

"Iron Man" Elon Musk also reposted on X in response.

19 Adding Some "Emotion" to Robots

On the arena, robots also began to "express emotion."

After Booster T2 scored a brilliant free kick, it原地复刻 Cristiano Ronaldo's classic "SIUUU" celebration.

Netizens' spicy take: "50 lines of shooting code, 5,000 lines of celebration code."

In the boxing ring, the winning robot pumped fists, swayed, and danced awkwardly — lively, a bit "smug." At the weightlifting final, the freshly crowned champion directly dropped the barbell and danced to the live music — backflip to handstand push-up, then smoothly transitioning into street dance.

Behind the celebrations and impromptu dancing, robots came to "win."

20 Synchronized Lying Flat

Lying flat was a "hidden" program at these humanoid robot games.

This red robot, at the starting gun, went directly flat on the spot.

The Unitree robot that finished dead last in its heat at 12.41 seconds also went "flat" after crossing the line.

On the soccer field, one robot fell; the referee was hoping it would get up, but another robot walking toward it also lay down, and the one beside it simply went flat on the spot — like a默契 relay.

Lying flat seems contagious too. In the boxing ring, the black-corner robot saw its opponent fall twice and voluntarily趴下 to lie flat with it.

Those determined not to lie flat crashed directly into the缓冲墙 after crossing the line, legs flying off.

21 Go Back to the Factory

During the event, a German National Academy of Engineering academician stated bluntly:

In the entire industrial robot field, humanoid robots make up a relatively small share; factories don't need robots to dance or run fast; humanoid robots made for show have little practical use in actual factories. The event organizer also emphasized: this year's competition wasn't just about "who runs fastest," but "who works best." Getting to work, getting the job done became the new main storyline.

Thus, 21 "scenario competitions" covering nine domains including home, hotel, and logistics were brought into the sports venue.

At the dexterous hand specialty competition that most tested manual skill, subjects were specially designed for high precision: tweezering beans, prying bottle caps, and more.

"Once robots master these 'last meter' crafts, they can 'win medals and take orders, leave the arena and enter the field.'"

— said Guangzhi Jiang, Director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. On August 26, the second Humanoid Robot Games closed. This robot极限 PK became a "phenomenal运动."

Usually, at a sports event we appreciate human spirit — striving, persistence, transcendence.

This time, we placed the same expectations on steel machinery. Watching them run, fall, lie flat, stand up,推倒重来 again and again, trying to break more possibilities...

One small regret: these contestants running with all their might currently only have model numbers, not names, and some may even become disposable robots — used once and discarded.