And China announced it and did it for real. Two humanoid robots got into the ring and exchanged blows as if they were professional wrestlers, yes you read that right, I'm talking about a real fight with kicks, hooks, dodges and even knockouts.

The event was held in the city of Hanzou in China and marked the first official fighting competition between humanoid robots in history. The series called “Mecha fighting series kicks off”, was broadcast live and attracted attention from around the world and was more than entertainment, this fight was a brutal testing ground to evaluate resistance, balance, agility and the response capacity of robots in high-pressure environments.

The robots used in the competition were G1 models from Unitree Robotics with 1.32 meters in height, the G1 are equipped with full-body motion sensors, integrated computing power and joints capable of simulating human strokes.

They demonstrated direct punches, hooks, side kicks and even aerial spinning kicks, in addition to being able to get up on their own after falls, what makes everything even more interesting is the level of coordination that these robots presented, arms, legs and torso moving in synchrony to maintain balance and execute offensive combinations, this requires an extremely refined control system with algorithms that imitate human reaction time in combat situations.

In this first presentation, the robberies were not using AI to have autonomy and deal blows, they were controlled by human operators in real time using remote control systems similar to what we see in the fiction film “Steel Giants.”

During training, the teams prioritized self-balance and fluidity of movement, ensuring that the robots were ready to withstand impacts and stay off their feet. The fight also tested the durability of the materials, since each blow tested the mechanical structure of the robots and even with falls and blows they continued to function, a test of the strength of the components and the engineering design.

During fights, the G1 managed to adjust the center of gravity, react to unexpected blows and even counterattack, demonstrating significant progress in the integration between AI and artificial biomechanics.

It is worth remembering that Unitree robots have integrated intelligence for stabilization, impact prediction and automatic recovery; in real combat situations this can mean the difference between winning or falling.

Unitree non costruisce robot solo per l'intrattenimento, questo combattimento è servito come test sul campo per le tecnologie applicabili alla sicurezza e alla difesa, con robot in grado di resistere agli impatti, di muoversi con agilità e di reagire in tempo reale, lo stesso sistema può essere adattato a situazioni come il combattimento tattico, l'addestramento militare e persino la risposta alle emergenze in ambienti ostili.

Inoltre, l'evento aiuta anche a calibrare i censori, a identificare i guasti e a migliorare la comunicazione tra uomo e macchina in scenari critici; con questa battaglia la Cina dà un chiaro messaggio, è in prima linea nella robotica umanoide applicata.

Gli esperti affermano che il torneo ha rappresentato un importante passo simbolico e tecnico, dimostrando che i robot possono operare con forte coordinamento e resistenza in condizioni simili a quelle umane e questo cambia completamente il gioco.

Il combattimento tra robot può sembrare un'attrazione da circo moderno, ma in realtà è l'inizio di una nuova era di test estremi per i robot umanoidi, e la cosa più curiosa è che l'idea di sport di combattimento tra macchine può diventare un laboratorio vivente per tecnologie che vanno ben oltre l'intrattenimento.