Robots have been around for quite a while, but they have become increasingly advanced in recent years. Today, it is more a matter of when than if robots will be able to perform any activity that a human can, and that includes engaging in activities like kickboxing. This was seen recently in an event in Hangzhou, China where they had a kickboxing tournament that involved bipedal robots.

In this event, the robots were being controlled by human operator teams, but eventually they will likely be fully autonomous and may even use artificial intelligence systems to try to get the biggest fighting advantages possible. The robot fights followed similar rules to human kickboxing, with the contestants using punches, knees, and kicks to try to defeat their opponents. The event took place at the China Media Group World Robot Competition, and the robots themselves were built by Unitree Robotics.

You can see clips of the fights in this video:

According to The Global Times, a state-run Chinese tabloid, the competition:

“marks a historic moment as it is the world’s first combat sports event centered around humanoid robots, signaling the gradual integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into combat sports.”

“Battle Bots” has been a popular form of sports entertainment for quite some time, with robots designed specifically to fight in a cage. In that league, the robots don’t have to be bipedal and can include things like spinning saws, hammers, flame throwers, and much more.

Whether people will be interested in watching robots doing things like playing football, basketball, or baseball certainly remains to be seen. It is also unclear whether robotic sports leagues will pull viewership (and therefore money) away from human athletes.

One thing is certain, however, these robots can perform amazing feats and are only getting better every day. The future of robotic sports is looking increasingly strong!

If you enjoyed that story, check out what happened when a guy gave ChatGPT $100 to make as money as possible, and it turned out exactly how you would expect.