: From retro streets to robot assembly and robot boxing.
The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference was held from July 26-28 in Shanghai under the theme Global Solidarity for the AI Era. The organizer claims that this year’s conference featured over 80 companies involved in embodied intelligence. This is a significant increase from last year’s event which featured only 18 companies.
The WAIC Robotics street was a highlight, which featured a retro-futuristic recreation 1990s Shanghai with supermarkets and snack streets, as well as repair shops, industrial workshop, and community centers staffed by cutting-edge humanoid robots.
Robots in the repair shop were tightening screws. In the industrial workshop they were sorting materials. They were given the task of performing at the cultural center: writing calligraphy and playing gongs and drummers. Unitree’s robot-boxing ring was another crowded booth. The match featured pairs Unitree’s humanoid G1, which stands at 1.32 meters high, weighs 35 kg, and has 29 flexible joints. It also has an intelligent balance algorithm. It displayed agility on the boxing stage with punch combos and spinning kickes. It was able get back up on its feet within seconds after falling.
In China, industrial robotics are a mature solution for parcel sorting. This is especially true in automated warehouses and logistic hubs. One notable example is the Chinese logistic company SF Express which has already implemented robotic sorting systems into its smart logistics parks. Jessie Wu, a Shanghai-based tech reporter, is
Jessie Wu. She covers the gaming, semiconductor and consumer electronics industries for TechNode. Connect with her via e-mail: jessie.wu@technode.com. More by Jessie Wu
