Are humanoid robots the future? Chinese makers instead highlight practical design

Humanoid robots were still among the biggest crowd-pleasers at this year’s World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, though other types of robots, such as wheeled machines, were gaining momentum as the industry moves from demonstration to deployment. At Unitree Robotics’ packed booth at the conference, bipedal models played table tennis or squared off in fighting matches, showing off levels of speed, balance and coordination that the industry has only seen in the last few years. But elsewhere...