The world's first robot games were a clumsy mess

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. This week, China's leading robotics minds gathered in Beijing for a hotly-anticipated, Olympics-style event dubbed the world's first "Humanoid Robot Games." Over the course of just over an hour, an assortment of wobbly, bipedal robots "competed" in soccer, running, and kickboxing. Others danced alongside far more coordinated children, while a handful struggled to play pre-programmed instruments. The entire awkward affair, touted as a showcase of the country's robotics prowess, highlighted how far the industry still has to go to approach anything resembling human-level performance.