Humanoid robots are showcasing intriguing wizardry at the ongoing World Robot Conference 2024 (WRC) in Beijing as they have made stunning outperformance in multiple applicable scenarios from cooking to instrument performance.
At an exhibition area of the 2024 WRC, a unique football match captures people's attention. Attendees gather here to applaud and cheer for the robot-players.
"It's different with the football matches we normally see, matches played by humans are more intense. I hope the robot players can run faster and become smarter in the future," said a boy at the exhibition area. Robots can applicate what they learn from virtual environment into the real world. The football matches could test and optimize algorithms empowering robots so that they would get more autonomous and coordinated while performing tasks, according to the exhibitor.
At other exhibition areas, humanoid robots continue to amaze people as they are seen making burgers with advanced bionic robot arms, practicing Chinese calligraphy, exercising martial arts and playing Yangqin, a traditional Chinese instrument.
"Those robots are capable of doing a lot of work, from cooking to chores, and their edge lies at being able to quickly learn and command human capabilities. For example, learning how to play the instrument Yangqin from a teacher, a robot can reach level 10 just in a couple of hours," said Lai Jie, founder of the Chinese tech company Astribot.
There are also bionic humanoid robots that look, act and talk more like human at the venue. Their human-like appearances and stunning capacities of fast learning and interaction attracts attendees.
"The robot can comprehend what is happening through its own observation, and then generate contents and behaviors based on our requests. In the future, it will be a customer-oriented smart product catering to personal needs, such as house-keeping, babysitting and tutoring," said Li Boyang, CEO of EXrobots, a Dalian-based Chinese tech company.
The 2024 WRC opened in Beijing on Wednesday, bringing together hundreds of industry professionals and highlighting a number of cutting-edge developments in the fast-evolving robotics industry.
According to the organizer, 169 global companies, including ABB, Tesla, Kuka and SMC, are presenting their 600-plus knockout exhibits throughout the five-day event.
Humanoid robots show diversified applicable scenarios at World Robot Conference 2024
Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa on Thursday arrived in Nanjing of east China's Jiangsu Province, the second stop of her visit to China, with the goal of stepping up bilateral cooperation in agriculture and fisheries.
Mata'afa, who arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday before heading to Jiangsu's Taizhou City to begin a nine-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, is being accompanied by a delegation comprising of Samoa's finance minister and other foreign and trade officials.
The delegation toured an agricultural research center in Jiangsu, where the China-Pacific Island Countries Agricultural Cooperation Demonstration Center was unveiled last year.
The research center was jointly established back in May 2020 by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS).
Since the 1980s, JAAS has carried out cooperation projects with Samoa, Vanuatu, and other Pacific Island countries on vegetable cultivation and rice breeding projects, achieving remarkable results.
Samoa's economy heavily relies on agriculture and fisheries, and since the establishment of the cooperation center, agricultural collaboration with China has grown significantly.
During Thursday's tour, the Samoan delegation viewed a display showcasing the partnership's key accomplishments, such as the establishment of joint laboratories and technical support programs, aimed at boosting local farmers' productivity. The delegation was then presented with a variety of crops developed by the research center.
Discussions touched on plans to expand collaboration to foster the island country's economic development.
"Agriculture is one of our priority sectors back home for development. And we see similarities in the provinces that we have visited in China. And we are learning a lot from what we have seen, and also sharing the experiences with the officials here and the experts here and taking it back with us to help us develop our agricultural skills," said Lautimuia Uelese Vaai, Samoan Minister of Finance.
Over the past year, the institution has sent multiple delegations to Pacific Island nations, including Samoa, to advance agricultural technology cooperation projects.
"In Samoa, we conducted a survey research on their vegetable cultivation and livestock farming. During our discussion with the prime minister just now, she showed great interest in these areas, which will also be a key focus for our next phase of cooperation," said Yi Zhongyi, president of the academy.
Sampling the fresh produce, delegation members not only experienced the flavors of innovation but also gained fresh inspiration.
"In Samoa, we have lots of tomatoes but not this species, so maybe we should take some [back]," said Luamanuvae Albert Mariner, Samoa's ambassador to China.
"We are not used to this scale of greenhouses, so it's actually quite eye-opening," said Henry Tunupopo, assistant chief executive officer of the Samoan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Samoan PM visits Nanjing to step up agriculture, fisheries industry cooperation
