The inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, running from Aug. 15-17, opened Friday with soccer, sprints, kickboxing and table tennis, as well as a healthy number of face-plants. The games feature 280 robot teams from 16 countries and hundreds of bipedal bots vying for medals and whatever passes for bragging rights to robots.

The World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off in Beijing, with AI-powered robots from around the globe competing in sports including track, soccer and dance.

The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports including soccer, running and boxing.