China’s biggest TV event had a clear star: the robot
CNN
Back-flipping, nunchuck-weilding humanoid robots delighted and amazed viewers at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza with their kung-fu choreography. But they – and their rivals who took to the stage Monday night – also carried a message about just how rapidly Chinese androids are advancing.
Back-flipping, nunchuck-weilding humanoid robots delighted and amazed viewers at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza with their kung-fu choreography. But they – and their rivals who took to the stage Monday night – also carried a message about just how rapidly Chinese androids are advancing.
The fluid movements, agility and fault recovery of Chinese firm Unitree Robotics’ bots, which kicked and flipped on-stage alongside young, human martial artists during the broadcast, were leaps ahead of the staid handkerchief-twirling and shuffling footwork of the Unitree models that performed last year to much fanfare.
And it wasn’t just Unitree. Across state broadcaster CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala this year, China’s growing tech capabilities – and the fierce competition within its high-tech sector – were on full display.
It’s a theme that’s not new at the gala, China’s largest televised event, which equates roughly to the Super Bowl in its TV programming heft. But it underscores China’s growing drive to transform itself into a tech powerhouse amid a wide-ranging rivalry with the US.
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