China has rolled out a fleet of weapon welding humanoid robots capable of executing precise kung fu moves, parkour flips, and even breakdancing routines, all broadcast live on state TV during the Lunar New Year’s Eve gala.
This display, featuring about two dozen bots from companies like Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab, blended traditional martial arts with cutting-edge tech, complete with nunchucks and swords brandished in synchronized sequences.
Footage from Chinese State TV shows the silver-and-red clad robots striking poses, twirling weapons, and leaping in unison on a lavish stage, their movements eerily fluid and coordinated with young kung fu artists in yellow outfits.
NEW: China unveils humanoid kung fu robots to showcase its "technological might" to the West, according to the Telegraph.About two dozen robots were seen performing martial arts, parkour, and breakdancing.The performance was broadcast on state television during China's…pic.twitter.com/BukVOYQh36
This isn’t mere showbiz. A 2024 US government report notes that China is “deploying significant government support for the humanoid robot industry in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, and development zones.”
Back in 2023, Beijing’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declared it “wanted to see thousands of humanoids in farms, factories and houses” by 2025—a goal they’re smashing ahead of schedule.
The Chinese embassy in the US bragged on social media: “You can’t imagine how fast Chinese humanoid robots are evolving.”
Just last week, we highlighted how humanoid robots are gaining advanced AI “brains” for autonomous decision-making, raising alarms over their potential military applications.
Firms like Dobot and UBTech are pushing bots toward real-world autonomy, shifting from scripted demos to adaptive systems that could easily pivot to battlefields.
Previously, a Unitree H1 bot—same company behind some of these gala performers—flailed wildly in a lab, nearly crushing its handler due to “imperfect coding.” If these machines glitch under control, imagine them unleashed in a surveillance state or conflict zone.
Source: modernity
