Step aside, figure skating. There’s a new favourite sport in the Winter Olympics.
Edge of Robot: Ski Robot Challenge is a novelty tournament that debuted during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, where eight humanoid robots race down an 80-meter alpine ski slope, avoiding obstacles in the process, in a bid to win a $10,000 cash prize – for the team who built it, not the robot itself.
Related: Winter Olympics Stream
Your modified R2-D2 couldn’t compete in the Ski Robot Challenge, however. The MiniRobot Corp, the firm behind the tournament, has drawn up some strict participation guidelines. All competing robots, for example, must be able to stand on two legs and have joints resembling elbows and knees (sorry, Roomba).
There’s no word on whether the tournament will be carried over to the 2022 Winter Olympics – it isn’t an official sport – but we’re hoping it will. And we can imagine a lot of other people are, too. After all, it isn’t every day you get to watch a cute robot stumble down a steep ski slope, struggling to gain traction.
Would you like to see the Edge of Robot: Ski Robot Challenge in the next Winter Olympics? Let us know over on Facebook or Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.