A look into the history and future of competitive robotics in China

钢铁身躯的角力, 人工智能的比拼: 机器人大赛引导年轻一代走向科技的未来

The first historical homage to robots (机器人 jīqìrén) in Chinese literature comes in the form of a flirty actor made by a man named Yan Shi (偃师). To avoid the king's ire, Yan quickly disassembles his handsome golem into wood, lacquer and glue, the first humanoid robot in history.

Though this account - found in Liezi (《列子》), a Taoist scripture of fables dates back to 375 BC - is obviously specious, Yan Shi's brilliant invention (发明 fā míng) is one of the earliest recorded accounts of humanoid robotics in the world. In modern history, however, China's robotic advancement has been slow, with its first bipedal humanoid robot, named Xianxingzhe (先行者) or Pioneer, launched in the year 2000.

The National University of Defense Technology worked on Xianxingzhe from the beginning of China's robotics research in the 1980s and was determined to build China a national robo-hero after seeing the astounding advancements of robotic technology at the 1985 World Expo in Tsukuba, Japan.

Unfortunately, Xianxingzhe's progress was painfully slow. According to the People's Daily, Xiao Zhu (小竺), a doctoral student, labored day and night on the hoped-for humanoid, not even leaving the lab for meals. On Dec 31, 1987, Xianxingzhe's bipedal legs were successfully programmed, and in the following year, the synchronization of the robot's hands, nervous system and visual sensors were put into action. Finally, at the turn of the new millennium, Xianxingzhe, the Pioneer, was born.

While considered a technological breakthrough for China, Xianxingzhe turned out looking like a junkyard Gumby. In the year when Xianxingzhe took its first shaky two steps per second walk, Honda released its 11th bipedal humanoid robot, the adorable ASIMO, who was able to run at speeds of up to 6 kilometers per hour. Poor Xianxingzhe really didn't stand up to international competition.

But, with the shadow of Xianxingzhe's embarrassment ever present in the minds of engineers, Chinese sciences have been ruthlessly training ever since, and they hit the ground running at the start of new century.

And run they do. And swim, and fight fires, and dish out kung fu moves. Along with the rapid development of Chinese robotic technology over the past two decades, China has also developed a love of pitting the country's best robots against each other in competitions of agility, strength and (artificial) intelligence. On the edge of these battles are the human minds who build, train and program their robo-champions year in year out.

The xPartners Cup, or China Intelligent Robot Contest (中国智能机器人大赛 zhōngguó zhìnéng jīqìrén dàsài), was founded in 2000, and stands as China's oldest and most comprehensive robot competition. After being invited to attend the 1999 Trinity College International Fire-fighting Home Robot Competitions, Shanghai-based xPartner Robotics Company team decided it was time China had a little domestic competition of its own. Many universities and colleges around China vie for the privilege to host the xPartner Cup. This year, the winning votes went to Louyan Normal College in Henan province.

Aside from the xParters Cup, China domestically hosts an assortment of different robotics competitions throughout the year and frequently participates on the international stage. The RoboCup China Open, a local subset of the internationally renowned RoboCup competition, hosts a range of competitive fields - from safety and rescue to obstacle courses and from soccer tournaments to martial arts fights.

Chinese universities seldom conducted robotic research before 2000 because of poor funding resulting from China's poor economic conditions at the time, says Xie Guangming, an associate professor works in the Center for Systems and Control and the Intelligent Control Laboratory at Peking University, or Beida, and leads the university's robo-competition teams.

In the last decade, however, universities started to receive earmarked funding from the Chinese government for endeavors in robot technology.

"The Chinese government, in addition to infrastructure and advanced equipment for robotic institutions, has also increased their commercial investment in improving robotics," Xie says.

This funding is sorely needed; robot competitions are decidedly costly.

General manager of Beijing Robot Technology Co Ltd, Zhao Baohai, introduces different robots from all walks of life, from 2-meter-tall service-bots who look like something from a sci-fi nightmare to adorable baby-sized companion robots who sit patiently waiting for your attention. His company provides support, training, equipment and the robots themselves to contenders in China's domestic robotic competitions.

"Robotics is a comprehensive discipline that cannot be enhanced by a single enterprise or university," Zhao says. "What makes a difference is the cooperation between universities and enterprises."

While the advancement of science and technology may seem to be the primary motivation for competing in a robo-competition, good ol' fashion rivalry is never far away. Competition is somewhat light in the preliminary events, but as Xie explains, "For events where participants have been researching and improving their techniques for many years and possess considerably mature robotics knowledge, what results is an intense rivalry.

"During the competition, students from different universities may be very sensitive, as they care about the score very much," says Xie, who doesn't see this antagonism as a bad thing. "Such intense rivalries ... promote the development of technology."

This year, at the 2013 International RoboCup held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Chinese competitors demanded the world's attention throughout the competition and while Chinese soccer teams remain a bit of a joke on the international scene, China's robo-strikers are giving the world a run for their money.

During the opening days of the RoboCup, the host city's team, Tech United, and the team from Beijing Information Science and Technology University, Team Water, played an exhibition match of robo-soccer for the viewing pleasure of Dutch royalty, Queen Maxima. While Team Water lost the exhibition match, the team member were not demoralized.

On June 30, Team Water was presented with a chance for redemption, being drawn into the semi-finals against the 2012 champions and rivals, Tech United, in a mid-sized league robo-soccer match.

Team Water finally defeated Tech United with 3-2, and now has the honor of playing an international demonstration game against a human team.

In the Humanoid League, soccer contests between "human-like" robots with arms and legs, Chinese teams were also victorious. Beijing's Tsinghua Hephaestus defeated Eindhoven's Tech United in a runners-up final for the Adult League where robots are required to be at least 130 centimeters tall.

While the International RoboCup received much attention, Chinese domestic markets still have a long way to go to gain mainstream popularity. "The public has little knowledge of robots", says Xie. "They just learn about robotics through movies and regard robots as a high-end products, with capabilities that far exceed contemporary capabilities. They also wrongly believe that humanoid robots are the only real robots.

"Robotics has not developed into a full-fledged stage yet. Unlike PC's, robots cannot become an indispensable part of people's life right now."

The spokesperson for xPartners, surnamed Zhou, however, has a different opinion. "China has recently started paying more attention to education, and education has shifted in a good direction," she says.

She predicts that China will become the world's biggest researcher and developer of robot technology, not just consumer.

Courtesy of The World of Chinese,

www.theworldofchinese.com

The World of Chinese

Top: Zhao Baohai, general manager of Beijing Robot Technology, holds a newborn robot. Below: Xianxingzhe, China's first modern robot, was a bit behind the times in 2000. Photos Provided to China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 09/27/2013 page27)