After watching numerous videos of humanoid robots adopting kung-fu poses, having seven bells kicked out of them, and generally looking like they’re up for a fight, it’s little surprise that humanoid boxing is now being touted as an emerging sport.
At the forefront of the effort to popularize humanoid boxing is a new organization called Ultimate Fighting Bots (UFB), which is putting on combat contests at locations in the U.S. and beyond.
Chinese robotics startup Unitree, which has been making waves with its own humanoid robots — some of them apparently already combat-ready — has recently partnered with UFB to promote a contest taking place this weekend.
But the robots aren’t fighting each other autonomously (yet). Instead, they’re operated by humans using traditional game controllers.
Of course, humanoid boxing isn’t purely about AI-powered contraptions smashing each other to bits. It’s also about demonstrating robotic capabilities such as balance, speed, reactive movements, and AI-driven coordination.
At the moment, the robots’ kicks and punches lack the full force of human fighters, so the likes of Conor McGregor would have little to worry about if they found themselves in the same ring. But it may not be too long before the tide turns.
It had to be said that humanoid boxing, for now at least, is a rather niche and experimental discipline, so it’s hard to say if it’ll take off in any meaningful way.
UFB is certainly giving it a shot, though, hyping up various fighters on its website with tongue-in-cheek profiles. The Disruptor, for example, is described as a “hoodie-wearing, hyperactive robot who dropped out of robot college after one semester and decided he knows everything.” The robot also “talks a mile a minute, and treats every fight like a startup pitch. He’s always trying ‘new features’ mid-battle and saying things like ‘just give me six months and $2 million and I could change this whole thing.’”
Interested to watch a UFB livestream featuring various bots battling it out? The next event takes place on Saturday, November 15. Check UFB’s X account for full details.
