Eighty humanoid robots marched in unison during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Humanoid Robot World Games held in Beijing, China. The machines are of the Booster T2 model, developed by the Chinese company Booster Robotics and recently unveiled as its new platform for the research and development of embodied artificial intelligence. The T2 stands approximately 1.40 meters tall, weighs nearly 43 kg, and features 31 degrees of freedom—with 12 concentrated in the hands—allowing for more precise movements during manipulation tasks.

The robot also employs two sets of binocular cameras positioned on the head and waist; this configuration allows it to monitor the surrounding environment while another system maintains a close-up view of the area where the hands are working. However, one of the major upgrades compared to the previous generation lies in processing power. The Booster T2 Pro version utilizes the Nvidia Jetson Thor platform, capable of delivering up to 2,070 TFLOPS of computing power to run artificial intelligence models directly on the robot; this local processing is crucial for embodied AI applications, where perception, decision-making, and movement must occur continuously.

All of the above enables the robot to observe its surroundings, interpret a situation, and translate that information into commands for its joints with reduced reliance on the cloud. Booster developed the T2 primarily as an open platform for research and commercial applications. During the humanoid robot world games, this capability was also put to the test in an activity vastly different from the marching display seen at the opening ceremony. The Booster T2 served as the platform for seven-a-side humanoid soccer, where two teams played matches autonomously—without human operators—and individually controlled their own movements; in this scenario, the robots had to identify the ball, locate other players, navigate the field, and decide when to run, pass, or kick. Soccer thus serves as a testing ground for challenges that also arise outside the realm of sports.

A humanoid must perceive objects and movement, avoid collisions, maintain its balance, and adjust its actions as the environment changes—capabilities similar to those required for these machines to eventually work in factories, logistics centers, and other environments originally designed for humans. The demonstration featuring 80 Booster T2 units showcased another possibility: operating a large number of humanoids simultaneously within the same space—something likely to become increasingly common as these machines continue to evolve.