Robot Competition Ignites Summer Consumption Season
On the morning of July 17, 2025, the World Robot Contest Trials (WRCT) 2025 MakeX Series in Shandong, as one of the 2025 Yantai Summer Consumption Season events, kicked off in full swing at Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area. Participants came from various cities in Shandong, as well as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Henan, Jiangsu, Hebei, and other regions. After two days of intense competition, the winning teams will qualify for the 2025 World Robot Competition Finals (WRCF).
The event is hosted by the China Electronics Society, undertaken by Yantai Media Group, Yantai Vocational College, Yantai Science and Technology Museum, and Shenzhen Maker Workshop Technology Co., Ltd., with support from the Yantai Educational Equipment and Technology Research Center, Yantai Huang-Bohai New Area Education and Sports Bureau, Radio and Television Center of Yantai Economic and Technological Development Zone, Yantai Development Zone Primary Committee of China National Democratic Construction Association, and Yantai Youth Science and Technology Instructors Association.
Following the opening ceremony on the morning of July 17, the competition officially began. The air in the venue seemed to crackle with electricity, clinking of metal collisions, tapping of programming keyboards, and ticking of referees’ timers interwove into a lively symphony. At over a dozen competition tables, young contestants in colorful team uniforms busied themselves around their robots. “Reduce the rotation speed by another 5%; the angle was off by 3 degrees when grabbing the cube just now,” said a young contestant in a blue vest, crouching to adjust the robotic arm. The team leader held a tablet and stared intently at the code interface, while another teammate immediately adjusted the screws with a screwdriver. “Overall, our performance in the previous round went smoothly, but there was a slight deviation during the grabbing process, which cost us a few seconds,” team leader Cheng Xiran told reporters, adding that his team was confident of winning the competition.
At the front row of the competition table, 11-year-old Men Ailin was nervously operating her robot to place the target object in the designated position. “Time’s up!” As the referee called the end, Men Ailin put down the controller and raised her hand, and had successfully completed the round. When asked why she loved robot programming as the only girl on her team, she said, “I think robot programming helps improve my hands-on skills. Working on code and competing with teammates also hones my communication and collaboration abilities.”
Laser equipment also added a tech-savvy touch to the event. A cutting-edge technology exhibition area at the venue showcased the latest xTool consumer-grade laser products of xTool P2S and F1. On-site, visitors could use xTool’s products to create their own exclusive souvenirs, such as leaf carvings, metal name cards, metal necklaces, thermos cups, and pillows. The combination of unique creativity and efficient creation tools drew crowds of students and teachers, who watched the laser engraving process and the finished products, expressing their admiration for the creative works.
The World Robot Contest (WRC) is a key component of the World Robot Conference, consisting of WRCT, WRCF, and World Robot Contest Championships (WRCC), featuring research-oriented, skill-based, and popular-oriented competitions. Since its launch in 2015, the contest has been successfully held for nine sessions, attracting over 300,000 contestants from more than 20 countries worldwide. Widely hailed as the “Olympics of robotics,” it is guided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, has been continuously included in the official list of national competitions for primary and middle school students released by the General Office of the Ministry of Education, and has achieved international recognition for results in multiple events.
Over the years, Yantai has actively organized and hosted various levels of the World Robot Competition, attracting over 4,000 teams and tens of thousands of participants from home and abroad to gather in this beautiful port city for a grand celebration of technology and wisdom.
To foster students’ innovative spirit and practical abilities, and enhance their scientific literacy and comprehensive quality, Yantai positively organized primary and middle school students across the city to participate in the WRCT 2025 MakeX Series in Shandong, competing for a spot in the 2025 WRCF.
Photo Reported by YMG All-media Journalist Yi Yulin
