Hi, Robot: Machines take over at China's Asian Games

HANGZHOU, China — From autonomous bug zappers to android pianists and driverless ice-cream trucks, machines rule the world -- at least at China's Asian Games.

The Games open Saturday after a one-year delay because of Covid with about 12,000 athletes and thousands of journalists, technical officials and spectators descending on Hangzhou.

The city is the unofficial home of China's tech industry and robots and other mind-boggling gadgets are set to serve, amuse and police visitors.

An automated mosquito trapper roams the vast Games Village, zapping the pests after luring them in by mimicking a human's body temperature and breathing.

Robot "dogs" that can run, jump and flip over patrol power-supply facilities. Smaller versions dance while a bright-yellow android plays the piano.

Driverless minibuses are set to shuttle visitors through the nearby city of Shaoxing, where baseball and softball venues are located.

Athletes can put their reflexes to the test against a table-tennis playing "Pongbot".

At the massive media centre, a blushing plastic-and-metal receptionist with a number pad and card slots built into its torso greets customers at a makeshift bank.

Even venues were built with the help of construction robots which organisers say are "very cute, with unique skills".

Summing up how keen China is to push the theme at the Games, the mascots are three humanoid robots -- Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, whose smiling faces adorn massive signs across Hangzhou and other nearby host cities.

Dog meets 'dog'

Hangzhou, a city of 12 million people in China's east, has built up a reputation as a home for tech startups.

That includes a thriving robotics sector eager to close the gap on industry-leading rivals in countries such as the