Box, run, crash: China's humanoid robot games show advances and limitations

A quick left hook, a front kick to the chest, a few criss-cross jabs, and the crowd cheers. But it is not kickboxing prowess that concludes the match. It is an attempted roundhouse kick that squarely misses its target, sending the kickboxer from a top university team tumbling to the floor. While traditional kickboxing comes with the risk of blood, sweat and serious head injuries, the competitors in Friday's match at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing faced a different set of challenges. The kickboxers, pint-sized humanoid robots entered by teams from leading Chinese technological universities, are part of a jamboree of humanoid events taking place at China's latest technology event.