In October last year, the Google developed computer program AlphaGo made headlines when it became the first computer to beat a top human player in the board game Go. Well here in China, there is a robot of a different kind turning heads, and hitting birdies, on the badminton court. The launch ceremony for the world robot challenge was held yesterday in Beijing and was attended by some big name sports figures from China.

Basketaball hall of famer Yao Ming spoke at the ceremony along with Olympic table tennis champion Wang Liqin. Also present were some major names in finance, science, and technology. The robots will soon challenge other robots from around the world as they travel to the USA, Japan, Israel and India. The entire robot challenge will be shown on TV and online to make up one part of the World Robot Conference. During the launch ceremony in Beijing, Wang played against the badminton robot who has already won three titles in a row in the Asian Pacific Robot event. Wang feels that in the future, robots can replace human practice partners to train athletes.