The largest robot convention in the world has got underway in China and this year the bots are more impressive and advanced than ever before.

The fifth annual World Robot Conference is being held in Beijing from August 20 to 25, attracting over 800,000 visitors. The event showcases more than 700 models of the latest robotic technologies and upgrades, and, this year, they can swim, fly and even perform brain surgery.

Smartbird

Created by German firm Festo, the ultralight flying drone was inspired by the herring gull. With a wingspan of two meters, the flight model can take off, fly and land using its own wings and just 23 watts of power – half the power used by some laptops.

At the 2019 World #Robot Conference, German firm @FestoAG showcased its SmartBird whose design was inspired by the herring gull. It was created with the best aerodynamics and maximum agility in mind and able to take off, fly and land under its own power. @EChinaNews#roboticspic.twitter.com/VolPWD4UjP — Robot&AIWorld (@RobotAndAIWorld) August 22, 2019

Intelligent service robot

Named XR-1, the cute commercial humanoid service robot is powered by a “constantly evolving cloud brain.” It can perform tasks like picking up objects, opening doors or even threading a needle, “making it perfect as a concierge, receptionist, business guide, or VIP service staff under different scenario,”according to its creator CloudMinds.

Robotic arm

The UR5 is a flexible, collaborative robot arm “built with the future in mind” by Universal Robots. Keen to show off their creation’s versatility, engineers showcased the bot stacking paper cups, moving objects and even demonstrating a brain surgery technique.

Aquajelly 2.0

The robotic jellyfish is designed to move exactly like its biological inspiration and to glide effortlessly through water. Its makers say that, thanks to its integrated communication and sensor technologies, the bots can behave as a coordinated collective of jellyfish.

The robot consists of a translucent hemisphere, a central watertight body and eight tentacles for propulsion. AquaJelly’s translucent hemispherical dome houses an annular control board with integrated, pressure, light and radio sensors. ⁠Project by: Festo ⁠ pic.twitter.com/Crn2kuCfYv — Wevolver (@WevolverApp) August 1, 2019

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