Winter games for robots? Watch these tiny robots race and take a nosedive on ski slopes
Dressed like young kids, tiny humanoids raced while avoiding obstacles at a South Korean ski resort.
Frigid weather conditions in Pyeongchang may affect players taking part in Winter Olympics 2018 but for robots, it is nothing but another opportunity to demonstrate how good they can be at sports, even if that means tripping at times.
We already know that androids can mimic human look and movements but now, two-legged machines are going one level up and racing down ski slopes, just like professional skiers.
A group of eight humanoids, with weirdly shaped heads, recently took part in a tournament dubbed "Edge of Robot: Ski Robot Challenge", just a few miles away from winter games.
Competing for a prize money of $10,000, each team had one main goal – race the bot down as fast as possible, but without hitting any of the obstacles placed on the way.
The groups rigged their machines with a range of cameras and sensors to ensure that the robots saw the difference between red and blue flagpoles and avoided them.
When the race started, viewers were amazed by the prolific performance of the machines. Most of the robots skied perfectly on the 80m long alpine course at Welli Hilli Ski Resort, but some could not bear the effect of record-low temperatures and tripped on their way down.
The hilarious tumble of winter suit donning robots made sure that the race was as eventful and entertaining as an actual ski challenge.
Ultimately, it was MiniRobot Corp.'s Taekwon V that crossed the finish line first and won the race. The 75cm tall bot, named after a Korean cartoon character, passed through as many as five flagpoles in just 18 seconds.
As Reuters reports, the organisers of the challenge say that the race was an effort to showcase South Korea's growing footprint in the robotics' space. One of the organisers Kim Dong-uk even noted that in future robots may have winter 'Olympics' of their own.
Although, it is worth noting sports is not the only place where South Korea's robotic advancement has been highlighted. The country has also deployed machines as cleaners, airport guide for visitors among many other things.