The 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games was held in Beijing from August 22 to 26, 2026. A Chinese humanoid robot preparing to compete suffered damage to its waist joint and sparked when it crashed into an electrical box while testing its sprint on August 19, just before the competition.
A widely circulated video shows a robot sprinting on the track, but as it reached a curve, it failed to adjust its direction in time, veered off the track, and collided heavily with the enclosed electrical box. The robot took a few steps back, then fell to the ground with its head hitting the ground, causing sparks to fly from its waist joint, resulting in damage.
According to the Sanxiang City Daily, the incident occurred on August 19 during warm-up testing for the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games, abruptly halting the warm-up session for this particular robot.
Netizens jokingly remarked that this was the infamous “cyber waist injury”, and the robot was rushed back to the assembly line factory for repairs overnight. Some commented, “The first robot to end its career early due to a spinal injury.” “20,000 RMB down the drain just like that.” “Just started its shift and already ‘injured’, this is definitely considered a work-related injury!”
Currently, the video has garnered over 5 million views on Platform X. AI expert Eren Chen, who shared the video, commented that “China’s robot industry may be excessively pursuing speed at the moment.”