From dance floor to war: China prepares humanoid robots for combat

At China’s World Humanoid Robot Games in August, humanoid machines jumped, boxed and danced. Some ran 100 meters faster than Usain Bolt. Spectators cheered their progress and laughed at their highly shareable falls.

Two days after the Games ended, the PLA Daily drew a more martial lesson from the spectacle. The newspaper urged researchers to speed the transfer of advanced technologies from laboratories to military training grounds for robotic “combatants”.

A Reuters review of more than 100 Chinese military procurement notices, academic studies, patents, official publications, government records and defense-company materials found that China’s defense establishment is accelerating work on military uses for humanoids and considering how they might eventually be deployed in wartime.

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Going where we don’t want humans to go is one of the most compelling reasons to develop robots in the first place.

Military institutions are testing humanoids against battlefield requirements, seeking robots and training technologies, and studying how the machines could work alongside troops. The effort gained momentum in 2025 and 2026, with research focused on robot perception, manipulation and training data.

Chinese manufacturers accounted for about 95 percent of global humanoid shipments in 2025, according to BofA Global Research. That commercial lead gives the PLA access to a growing industry as it develops military applications of its own.

The military interest reflects the rapid evolution of autonomous systems. In the Russia-Ukraine war, semiautonomous drones using artificial intelligence for navigation and targeting have changed reconnaissance and attacks, while robots transport supplies and retrieve casualties. That conflict has also sharpened military interest around the world in systems that can operate with less human involvement.

“Going where we don’t want humans to go is one of the most compelling reasons to develop robots in the first place,” said Dennis Hong, a UCLA professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “If losing a robot means avoiding the loss of a human life, then the robot can become expendable.”

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If losing a robot means avoiding the loss of a human life, then the robot can become expendable.

China already has a concept for humanoids in urban warfare. One proposal would divide six “combat robots”, including humanoids, robot dogs or unmanned vehicles, between two assault forces. The available excerpt ends as it begins to describe that plan.

There is no evidence that China has deployed an armed humanoid with an operational PLA unit. The machines remain energy-intensive and unreliable outside controlled demonstrations. Carnegie Mellon mechanical engineering professor Aaron Johnson said unpredictable battlefield conditions pose major challenges for robots.

China’s Defense Ministry and the National University of Defense Technology did not respond to requests for comment about military applications for humanoid robots.

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The PLA Daily called for researchers to accelerate the transfer of cutting-edge technologies from laboratories to military training grounds for robotic “combatants”.