Europe and the US are dissatisfied with China's robotic Spring Festival Gala, saying that if they can perform, they can also carry out combat missions!
CNN and Fox have reported that during this year's Chinese Lunar New Year, four-legged robots produced by China performed a smooth set of martial arts moves on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala stage - rolling, leaping, forming formations, and even synchronizing with the rhythm of the music. This two-minute program quickly went viral on social media platforms, but not all reactions were positive. Reuters specifically pointed out: the underlying technology of robots that can accurately complete such high-dynamic, highly coordinated movements has the potential to be converted into military capabilities.
Chinese audiences see technological progress and joy, while Western media see vigilance and dissatisfaction. To understand where this "dissatisfaction" or vigilance comes from, it is necessary to look clearly at the technical content behind this performance. These robots are not just "dancing", but demonstrating a high integration of multi-robot collaboration, real-time perception, dynamic balance, and complex motion control.
For example, a four-legged robot must complete a side aerial flip while moving at high speed, which requires millisecond-level sensor feedback, high-torque-density motors, and highly optimized motion planning algorithms. These capabilities are precisely the core requirements for unmanned combat platforms in modern warfare - whether it's breaching obstacles in urban warfare or autonomous navigation in mountain reconnaissance, similar technology stacks are required.
The robots that took the stage that night were not one, but a formation of dozens of robots. They not only had precise individual movements, but could also maintain synchronization of the overall formation. This indicates that China has made substantial breakthroughs in cluster control algorithms and mass production of low-cost, high-performance robots. In a military context, "cluster" means swarming tactics - large numbers of low-cost unmanned units working together, which can significantly increase battlefield redundancy and strike efficiency. The Pentagon has repeatedly emphasized the importance of "anti-swarm" capabilities, reflecting anxiety about the spread of such technologies.
Dao Ge thinks that this time, the popularity of the Spring Festival Gala robots exactly hit a sensitive point of the Pentagon and the West - it unintentionally demonstrated China's engineering implementation speed in key frontier technology fields, as well as the lag of the West in this field.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857430569692172/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.