Zhang Yu JeniZhang13@163.com ELON MUSK has weighed in on Shenzhen’s world‑first commercial full‑size humanoid robot fighting league, calling it “fun” and reposting a video on social media of the inaugural duel at the Nanshan Culture and Sports Center on Thursday night, in which “White Eagle” took on “Bullfighter” before a capacity crowd. After five rounds of close-quarters combat, “Bullfighter,” clad in dark armor, claimed victory by a 3-2 decision. “Robot fights are fun,” Musk posted, with the video racking up 4.65 million views by early yesterday morning. The event, organized by Shenzhen-based robotics firm EngineAI, featured the company’s T800 humanoid robot as the league’s standard competition robot under the banner of URKL (Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend). All teams competed using the same T800 model, differentiating themselves through software algorithms, parameter tuning and other system optimizations. The company said the league represents a milestone in commercializing robot combat, moving the technology beyond labs and into public entertainment. More than 200 teams from China, the U.S., Poland and Singapore initially registered for the competition. Following qualifying rounds, 32 advanced to the main draw. The tournament uses a composite format that includes round-robin group play and double-elimination brackets, with four stages ranging from qualifying to the finals. The T800 stands 1.73 meters tall and generates 450 newton-meters of peak torque at its joints, allowing it to perform high-dynamic moves such as rising uppercuts, spinning kicks and rapid recovery from falls. Its aerospace-grade aluminum-magnesium alloy shell is designed to absorb repeated impacts. The robot uses real-time visual feedback to drive an autonomous decision-making loop, enabling it to lock onto opponents, anticipate their moves, and execute counterstrikes — a process EngineAI engineers compare to human combat intuition. The next phase of the tournament begins with group-stage matches, leading to the finals later this year. | 