Forget AI taking our jobs. We might have to start worrying about robots surpassing us in slapstick humor instead.
In a video taken of the practice runs at China’s World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, one of these robots sprints down a race track at an impressive pace, before crashing and literally flaming out in spectacular fashion.
Deceleration, it turned out, proved not to be its strong suit. Still going at top speed well after bursting past the finish line, the gangly machine slams into a cushioned wall, stumbles backwards as it desperately tries to regain its balance with rapid footsteps, and then falls head first on the ground. Its awkward landing, though, sent the force of impact straight into its hip — which immediately erupts in a shower of sparks.
The robot, it appeared, had blown out its back. Sympathetic groans rang out from the crowd.
The video has gone viral on social media, and is such a perfect comedic spectacle some thought it was AI-generated. However, multiple angles showing the crash suggest it’s very much real, although Futurism was unable to independently confirm the video’s authenticity.
The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games last year saw the Chinese robotics company Unitree — best known for its G1 robot that itself has gone viral for being used in many comedic stunts — sweep the competition, taking home four gold medals, including in the 100 meter race.
It has no intentions of taking its foot off the gas. Unitree, at this years’ games, is debuting a new “Superman” robot that it claims can run faster than Usain Bolt and jump higher than any human.
But it, too, blundered after crossing the finish line during a training run. In another video making the rounds online, the Superman robot couldn’t slow itself down in time before slamming into an electrical box against the wall and falling on its rear end.
There’s a pretty big change at this year’s competition that could blow it wide open: the robots must complete their runs completely autonomously, instead of remote operation, as robotics industry analyst Eren Chen noted on X.
Chen speculates it’s why we’re probably seeing videos of robots making a fool of themselves on the racetrack. He also opined that “China’s robotics industry may be over-optimizing for speed right now,” as a consequence of obsessing over giving the humanoid robots capable bodies back when they were more clumsy, he added.
Whatever’s going on, we’re definitely enjoying watching the show as the robot carnage unfolds.
More on robots: Chinese Startup Shows Off Robot Horse You Can Actually Ride