BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday

Tech firms aim to trigger a robot revolution with video of humans doing housework. Gig workers are paid up to $25 an hour to film themselves doing various tasks.

HONG KONG (AP) — A humanoid robot about the size of a primary school student had something to share in Hong Kong — it sang songs and spoke to people in Mandarin and English, answering whatever questions they posed and delighting the audience around it.

As companies like Tesla, Figure AI, and Agility Robotics race to build humanoids—robots designed to resemble and move like humans in factories and homes—videos recorded by gig workers like Zeus are becoming the hottest new way to train them.

BMW is deploying AI-powered humanoid robots in its Leipzig, Germany, factory after a successful pilot in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that helped build over 30,000 vehicles.