Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
Humanoid robot boxers are now having spirited matches in China. Take a look at this match below.
🇨🇳 Robot gets KO'd in the world's first humanoid ROBOT FIGHTING tournament in China pic.twitter.com/Abkux5FZnj
— Dott. Orikron 🇵🇹 (@orikron) May 25, 2025
As far as I can tell, these two robots are not autonomous; they are being guided by the two guys outside the ring with controllers.
Even in Chinese, you can understand the excited announcer shouting "KO"!
Science fiction writers have of course foreseen these developments. In his 1957 story Jingle in the Jungle, Aldo Giunta describes fighting machines (robot boxers:
Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines. Thirty rounds of fighting, at five minutes per round, is one hundred and fifty minutes, two and a half hours, of solid, shattering labor. A machine overheats the way a man does under constant stress. Its joints expand, its lubricant thins, things begin to stick, friction wears parts. While a fight-machine’s body works against time, its opponent pounds it, jars it, jolts it. Wires loosen. Gears slip. Tubes shatter. The machine slows, becomes gawky. Its timing is a split second off. Its flexibility, its speed, are worn down.
(Fight Machine from 'Jingle in the Jungle' by Aldo Giunta)When its pattern-analysis system becomes damaged, it cannot decipher the feints, the systems and combinations of its opponents’ strategy. An eye is shattered, and the Trainer replaces it, since he carries a spare pair. The same one is smashed again, and he cannot replace it, because the Commission only allows a single replacement during a fight. Its “skin” is split and the colored oil flows, the lifeblood of the machine. The Trainer is allowed one vulcanizing skin repair job per bout. If it happens again, the fighter must go on, fighting against the time when the loss of oil will endanger his operating efficiency.
(Read more about fighting machines (robot boxers)
Note that Giunta includes robot referees. There were even programmed knockout sequences:
The Champion moved forward, wound up. He started his famous knockout sequence of punches, landing the first and second carefully, playing to his audience so that they could see what was happening and appreciate from the beginning what was about to happen.
An earlier 1956 story by Richard Matheson describes robot boxers. Steel was published in Fantasy and Science Fiction, but in the actual fight described in the story, a human coach substitutes for a broken-down robotic fighter. Maxo the robot has mechanical difficulties:
Pole reached inside Maxo and activated the leg cable centers. Maxo began shifting around. He lifted his left leg and shook off the base wheel automatically. Then he was standing lightly on his black-shoed feet, feeling at the floor like a cured cripple testing for stance.Pole reached forward and jabbed in the FULL button, then jumped back as Maxo's eye beams centered on him and the robot moved forward, broad shoulders rocking slowly, arms up defensively.
"Christ," Pole muttered, "they'll hear 'im squeakin' in the back row."
(Read more about the boxing robot)
Thanks to SFFaudio for the video and a reference for this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/15/2025)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...' - Philip K Dick, 1954.
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...' - George Parsons Lathrup, 1897.
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Black Fungus Blocks Radiation
'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
