It’s Wednesday. The Second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing is a fascinating glimpse at how far humanoid technology has come—and an equally fascinating reminder of how far it still has to go. These machines may be getting faster, stronger, and smarter, but watching one face-plant into a wall at full speed is a pretty good reminder that the road to our robot-powered future is going to be filled with a lot of falling, stumbling, sparks, and involuntary somersaults.

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