HANOVER: A blue-eyed humanoid robot carefully opens a box and places a tool inside as a crowd of visitors watch the demonstration of &quot;physical AI&quot; skills at a major industrial trade fair in Germany. Made by German startup Agile Robots, it was among a host of robots showing off their moves at the event, underlining hopes of a coming AI-powered boost for Germany&#39;s long-struggling factories. Embedding the technology into industrial processes, where Europe already has deep expertise, is seen as a key route for the continent to catch up in the artificial intelligence race against the United States and China. Such AI-boosted robots make it possible to &quot;actually solve industrial problems&quot;, Rory Sexton, chief executive of Agile Robots, told AFP in an interview. From next year, he added, the company plans to begin fitting out German factories, particularly those in the automotive industry, a crucial sector for Europe&#39;s biggest economy.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2041953590877810784&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=a39aa8ddb55a2e0d344043106d62509b254c011d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2041953590877810784"></iframe></div></div>Artificial intelligence used for real-world, hands-on tasks -- so-called physical AI -- was in focus this year in Hanover at the world&#39;s biggest industrial technology fair, which brings together more than 3,000 exhibitors. Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the Agile Robots stand, where he talked to Zhaopeng Chen, the Chinese founder of the Munich-based startup. In a speech at the fair, Merz threw his support behind the drive to encourage German manufacturers, many of whom still rely on traditional techniques, to step up their use of AI. AI should be &quot;embedded in the key sectors of our industry and especially&quot; in small- and medium-sized firms, the backbone of the German economy, to create &quot;industrial added value and high-quality jobs&quot;, he said. - &#39;Dark side&#39; of AI - But, like in many other industries, German manufacturers are playing catch-up against China when it comes to making humanoid robots. Merz witnessed China&#39;s progress in the field first-hand during a visit to the country in February, when he saw displays of Chinese-made robots performing kung fu and boxing. The maker of those robots, Unitree, and other Chinese manufacturers were also out in force at the Hanover fair, as they have been in previous years. Still, Sexton of Agile Robots insisted that &quot;we&#39;ll soon be able to do what (Unitree) are doing&quot;, and shrugged off such impressive public displays.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2042912788717408509&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=a39aa8ddb55a2e0d344043106d62509b254c011d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2042912788717408509"></iframe></div></div>Rather than dancing or martial arts, Agile Robots is focused on &quot;value-added tasks for industry&quot;, such as electronic wiring in cars or phone assembly, he said. He emphasised that Germany offers an &quot;ecosystem of suppliers&quot; and &quot;very strong expertise in mechanical engineering and automation&quot;, both crucial in the race for AI. Companies are also hopeful about the technological developments -- 58 percent of industrial firms surveyed by German digital business association Bitkom believe humanoid robots could help plug skilled labour shortages. The country also has deep pools of industrial data to draw on from its factories, according to Antonio Krueger, head of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). &quot;This is something we have at a level of quality far superior to the United States or China,&quot; he told AFP. But, critics say, the use of this data is still often too piecemeal and isolated, with no overarching strategy to bring it together cohesively. Not everyone in Hanover was convinced that AI was the solution to the woes of Germany manufacturers, who have long been struggling with issues from high energy costs to weak demand. Jochen Heinz, an executive from German factory machinery maker SW Machines, cautioned that AI can sometimes make mistakes by, for instance, giving misleading instructions for repairs or incorrectly claiming to have detected problems.

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Robots powered by physical AI drew attention at Germany’s Hanover fair, where firms promoted them as a way to modernise factories, ease labour shortages and help Europe compete with the US and China.

AI-powered robots offer new hope to German factories

BEIJING: A humanoid robot competing against flesh-and-blood runners broke the world record at a Beijing half marathon on Sunday, showcasing the rapid technological advancement achieved by Chinese makers. Spectators lined the roads in Yizhuang in the capital&#39;s south to watch the machines and their human rivals race, each group in a separate lane to avoid accidents or collisions. Some of the robots were highly agile, moving like famous runners such as Usain Bolt, while others had more basic capabilities. The winning humanoid, equipped with an autonomous navigation system and running for Chinese smartphone maker Honor, completed the roughly 21-kilometer (13-mile) course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, at an average speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, according to state broadcaster CCTV. That was far faster than the top human in Sunday&#39;s race, while also surpassing the current men&#39;s world record of 57:20 held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo. The result represented spectacular progress from last year, when robot-runners fell repeatedly and the best took more than two hours and 40 minutes to finish. The number of humanoid entries jumped from around 20 last year to more than 100, according to organisers, a sign of the sector&#39;s growing popularity.&nbsp;&#39;Pretty cool&#39;&nbsp;Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old student who watched the race from behind a safety barrier, barely had time to take out her phone and snap a picture of the leading robot as it whizzed past. She told AFP she was enthusiastic about such leaps in technology and thought the event was &quot;pretty cool&quot;. But, she added, &quot;as someone who works for a living, I&#39;m a little worried about it sometimes. I feel like technology is advancing so fast that it might start affecting people&#39;s jobs&quot;, particularly with artificial intelligence growing increasingly sophisticated. Humanoid robots have become a common sight in China in recent years, in the media as well as in public spaces. Xie Lei, 41, who watched Sunday&#39;s race with his family, said robots could &quot;become part of our daily lives&quot; within several years, potentially used for &quot;things like housework, elderly companionship or basic caregiving&quot; or &quot;dangerous jobs, even firefighting&quot;. The humanoid half marathon aims to encourage innovation and popularize the technologies used in creating and operating such machines. In a sign of the industry&#39;s strength, investment in robotics and so-called embodied AI amounted to 73.5 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in China in 2025, according to a study by a government agency. &quot;For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet Earth. But now, look at robots. Just in terms of autonomous navigation, at least in this specific sport event, they&#39;re already starting to surpass us,&quot; Xie said. &quot;On one hand, it does make you feel a little bit sad for humanity. But at the same time, technology, especially in recent years, has given us so much imagination.&quot;

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The winning humanoid completed the roughly 21-kilometer (13-mile) course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, at an average speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

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AI-powered robots offer new hope to German factories

Humans far behind as robot breaks record at Beijing half marathon