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 United States and Japan.

At a business park, staff from DEEP Robotics put some of their most advanced models through their paces, commanding one four-legged bot to walk through construction rubble and sending another up a nearby pedestrian bridge slick with rain.

At one point, a real dog turns up and sniffs its robotic equivalent curiously.

Elsewhere, office workers pick up lunch from vending machines that can steam the food and, according to maker Kuaie Fresh, check the temperature so the meal is just right.

The machine also collects data on customer preferences.

"Its cooking skills are better than most people who don't know how to cook," said Hu, 29.

A global race to push the limits of artificial intelligence brought AI-enabled humanoid robots to a UN summit in July, where they claimed they could eventually run society better than humans.

"I wouldn't say that robots will replace humans, but rather they are a tool, and they will help humans," Qian Xiaoyu, a DEEP Robotics executive, told AFP.

A temperature-taking robot has been lined up to take people's temperatures and report if they showed signs of a fever.

It can also remind visitors to wear a mask.

AFP