Known as “the world’s first human-machine fight”: 1.8-meter “Terminator” robot VS social media celebrity “cage fight” caused controversy

A company in California that organizes battles between humans and robots recently received a ban from regulatory agencies due to a cage fight between robots and humans. It is reported that the company called Robot Entertainment Kombat (REK) held a competition called “the world’s first human-machine combat” in San Francisco last month, and the video attracted widespread attention on the Internet.

▲The competition scene

According to reports, one side of the competition was the company’s 1.8-meter-tall “Terminator” robot, and the other side was social media celebrity Frankie LaPena. REK received an injunction on September 30 after the duel.

Currently, there is still a “REK Deathmatch” scheduled to be held in San Francisco on October 9 on the company’s website. It is unclear whether there will be another human versus robot showdown, or whether it will only be a competition between robots.

REK CEO Six Leaf posted the cease and desist order on social media with the following text: “Guys, we did it. California sent us a cease and desist order for hosting ‘unsanctioned cage fighting of humans versus humanoid robots.'”

“They say we are breaking the law, but there is no such law,” Leaf said. “The law states that a boxing match is between ‘two persons’ as defined by the law.”

Currently, neither California law nor federal law explicitly prohibits human-machine combat. At issue is whether such fights fall within current combat sports regulations, which require prior state approval, licensing and regulation.

In this human-machine duel exhibition match on September 18, Rapena competed with three different robots, including a humanoid robot weighing about 90 kilograms, which is said to have a kicking force of up to 850 pounds (about 385 kilograms). In the pre-game video released by La Pena, he was wearing a helmet, gloves and kneepads, and looked a little nervous.

In the video, LaPena fought fiercely with the robot, and the robot kicked the YouTube blogger to the ground multiple times. The video has been played more than 8 million times on YouTube and has also attracted criticism from some people.

▲比賽現場

The first game ended quickly. Rapunna kicked the smaller robot down, ending the battle within seconds. The second game was much more difficult. The opponent was a “Terminator” robot about 1.8 meters tall. During the game, the machine kicked hard. Even though Lapena was wearing protective equipment, she was still kicked out and hit the cage wall. This scene caused the audience to scream. He stabilized himself and continued his attack, eventually knocking the larger robot over and sealing the victory.

The opponent in the final game is a faster “Predator” robot. After the game, Lapena said that this machine could stand up repeatedly and continue to attack, and the intensive offensive exhausted his energy. Unlike its human counterpart, the robot never seems to tire, he said. The third showdown ended with humans losing.