Chinese humanoid robot stumbles then recovers during first human-robot tennis match

A humanoid robot stumbled and fell while chasing a tennis ball mid-rally, then picked itself up and continued the match—a demonstration that showcased both the rapid advances and stubborn limitations of China's robotics industry during the second World Humanoid Robot Games.

The tennis-playing machine, built by Beijing-based Galbot, traded forehands and backhands with human opponents in what the company called the world's first human-robot tennis match. The robot crouched, shuffled sideways and adjusted its position to return shots across the net, coordinating its torso and arms to track incoming balls, predict landing points and execute swings within seconds.

Over 2,000 robots compete in Beijing

The games opened Saturday night at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, the speed-skating venue from the 2022 Winter Olympics, and will run for five days. This year's competition features 51 events and 1,301 matches involving more than 600 teams and 2,056 humanoid robots, according to the organiser.

Robots are competing in sports ranging from running and football to table tennis and combat events. New competitions this year include table tennis and kickboxing, while scenario-based events have been expanded to cover tasks in industrial production, hotels, homes and logistics.

Balance, autonomy and power remain challenges

The tennis demonstration exposed weaknesses that continue to dog humanoid robotics development. The robot's loss of balance during play—prompting gasps from spectators—highlighted ongoing issues with stability. The event also underscored broader constraints including limited autonomy, battery limitations and the need for faster wireless networks to support real-time decision-making.

Tennis presents a particularly demanding test for humanoid robots because it requires tracking a moving ball, predicting its trajectory, repositioning the body and coordinating multiple joints to return a shot, all within a narrow time window. The Galbot robot's ability to recover from a fall and resume play demonstrated progress in these areas, even as the tumble itself revealed how much ground remains to be covered.

Source: South China Morning Post