A humanoid robot takes part in a simulated firefighting mission during the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in a real fire brigade in Beijing on August 16, 2026. Photo：Li Hao/ GT

　　The firefighting final of the emergency management category at the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG) was held on Sunday in Beijing, putting 23 teams through a simulated rescue operation designed to test whether humanoid robots can move beyond demonstrations and perform practical tasks in complex real-world environments.

　　The event comes as Chinese humanoid robots, long known for eye-catching abilities such as running, dancing and music playing, are pushed toward practical applications, including jobs that are dangerous for humans such as emergency rescue.

　　Unlike the first edition of the WHRG last year, according to the organization committee, this year"s scenario-based events emphasize "realistic simulation," with the firefighting competition being held at a fire brigade rather than in a model-room setup.

　　The competition simulated a firefighting assignment that required each of the 23 robots to complete three tasks within 30 minutes: identify hazardous materials, shut off valves and operate a fire extinguisher. For the first task, robots had to identify two randomly placed simulated hazardous substances and report their types to judges through returned images. They then had to locate three randomly selected open valves of different types and shut them off before identifying a fire source, finding a fire extinguisher and spraying it until the fire was put out.

　　Human firefighters were also involved in the event, lighting the fire and observing whether the robots carried out the extinguisher operation correctly.