Tech
China Unicom 5G-A network powers world’s first humanoid robot games | Computer Weekly
Just over a year ago at MWC Asia in Shanghai, China Unicom was one of several local telcos offering demonstrations of 5G Advanced (5G-A) networks to show new and advanced use cases based on the evolution of standard 5G infrastructures. Now, the operator’s Beijing division has provided full 5G-A network coverage outside and inside the venue for the recent 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games.
As the world’s first international sports event for humanoid robots, the games set the stage for a fusion of technology and athletics, signalling artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) expansion into sports at scale.
The three-day event at the Beijing National Speed Skating Oval was described as part competition, part carnival. It featured more than 500 robots from nearly 280 teams worldwide to compete at their best across athletic, performance, industrial and healthcare contests, offering a stage for intelligent machines to demonstrate skills in events ranging from football to high jump, offering potential for use in factories and homes.
The organisers said that as the world races farther into the era of artificial intelligence, the event served as both a showcase and a knowledge exchange, pushing the limits of robotics design and performance, showing advances being made in the field of robotic showing decision-making, motor skills and controllers.
On the football pitch, three-a-side and five-a-side matches pit AI-powered robots against one another. Robot doctors diagnosed breakdowns with terms such as “right hip joint disconnection” and “left foot plate detachment”, armed with tools for quick field repairs.
As the event’s exclusive global communications partner, China Unicom said it was dedicated to ensuring millisecond-level network response and zero downtime with its 5G-A, AI, and all-optical network expertise through collaboration with partners such as Huawei.
The telco added that the 5G Advanced network – offering connectivity for both robots and spectators outside and inside the arena – was “cutting-edge”, characterised by its high uplink capacity, reliability and security, “significantly enhancing” the experience for tens of thousands of spectators.
The operator believes that such robust 5G-A networks will transform society by propelling humanoid robots beyond competitions and into full-scale commercialisation. It said that as the AI industry is developing rapidly, multimodal and cross-device interactions are reshaping personal experiences, IoT connections are growing “exponentially”, and AI is now woven into the fabric of core production processes, completely redefining workflows
Inside the venue, a 5G-A digital indoor system was developed utilising 300 MHz ultra-high-bandwidth spectrum. It delivered an uplink speed above 100 Mbps, allowing multiple 4K machine vision streams to be uploaded without frame loss. It also aimed to ensure air interface latency remained below 20ms, so robots could respond to commands instantly.
Outside the venue, a 5G-A 3D network coordinated 1:1 high and low bands to achieve downlink and uplink speeds of 10 Gbps and 4 Gbps, respectively. With this connectivity, 8K panoramic cameras merged footage live, media such as CCTV uploaded Ultra HD shallow-compressed signals in seconds, and crowds were said to have live-streamed and shared videos without lag.
China Unicom noted that embodied AI robots are a demanding AI application, requiring a specialised network that allows them to perceive their surroundings, make instant decisions, pinpoint their location precisely and coordinate with other robots. Beyond the event, China Unicom aims to inject strong momentum into the robotics industry.
“Our 5G-A networks currently serve users, and we’re upgrading them to support embodied AI as well,” said Qin Yang, deputy general manager of China Unicom Beijing.
“Our 5G-A network for this event reflects this progress. It dedicates a channel for spectators and a dynamically scalable one for robots, realising seamless connectivity for both spectators and robots even during peak usage. In the robot sector, 5G-A will also be key to enabling low-latency remote control.”
Samuel Chen, vice-president of marketing for Huawei’s wireless network product line, added: “At the humanoid robot games, the network [had to] support many robots, spectators and live-media streams. It needed to provide high uplink capacity, low latency, high reliability and wide coverage.”
Tech
L.L.Bean Promo Codes and Coupons: Up to 75% Off
L.L. Bean is infamous for its outdoorsy appeal, ranging from outerwear and supplies to withstand the elements to laid-back lifestyle products. The company was established in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean in Maine. It remains headquartered there today, continually rolling out revered classics and updated essentials for today’s nature lovers. Take the Bean Boots: what started as L.L. Bean’s premier product ultimately helped shape the brand into what it is today. This definitive shoe, which can be worn on hiking trails and rain-slicked city streets alike, has remained true to the original version. If you’ve ever wanted to capture the essence of being a rugged Mainer or recreate a cozy cabin at home, here are plenty of L.L. Bean promo code options at your fingertips.
Get 10% Off Your First Order With an L.L.Bean Promo Code
You may bemoan email updates, but in terms of sales, this L.L. Bean coupon is a pretty low lift. Sign up for email updates from the company, and you get 10% off your first order. This offer is valid only once per email address, so choose your purchase wisely.
Take Up to 75% Off Outdoor Gear in the L.L.Bean Sale Section
Sales mean stocking up, especially on outdoor equipment and camping supplies ahead of your next adventure. Whether you’re about to take up fishing and need supplies, or have Noah Kahan concert tickets in sight and want extras from his L.L. Bean collaboration collection for the event, all of that is available to you. You can save 75% off these L.L. Bean sale items, no promo code needed.
This is a different sort of two-for-one special: twice a day, L.L. Bean posts new sales at 6 AM and 2 PM sharp, Eastern time. While the two-a-day daily markdown is not super expansive in terms of inventory up for grabs, what is posted for sale usually comes at a heavily discounted price akin to deals you’d see on Black Friday.
This L.L. Bean sale is like an online treasure hunt. The daily markdown sale involves a new deal posted daily from 6 AM to midnight Eastern time. Inventory leans toward gear, such as backpacks, blankets, and shoes.
Score Free Shipping on Orders Over $75
We’ve all abandoned our online shopping carts at one point or another once we saw how much shipping was going to cost. Shipping usually costs $8 for a standard L.L. Bean order—that is, if you are under $75. If you hit that threshold or more, you immediately score free shipping on your order.
Military, First Responders, Medical Workers, and Students Can Save an Additional 10%
Being in the medical field or a first responder can often be a tough, thankless job. But, there’s a special L.L. Bean sale for medical workers and first responders so that you can stock up on supplies for when you rest and recharge in your down time. Use the L.L. Bean first responder discount for 10% off—be sure to verify your license status through SheerID.
L.L. Bean military discount offers 10% for military personnel, current or former. This discount also applies to family members—if you or a family member would like to partake, verify your status via SheerID.
Teachers deserve their (wild)flowers. To make sure you have what you need for your next outdoor adventure and say thanks, you can get 10% off with the special L.L. Bean teacher discount. College students, there’s also the L.L. Bean student discount where you 10% off, too. To redeem either of these discounts, make sure to verify your teaching or student (or both!) status via SheerID.
Earn 20% Off With the L.L.Bean Mastercard
If you’re hunting for a potential credit card candidate, and already are an avid L.L. Bean fan, this is the opportunity for you. You can earn 20% off once approved for an L.L. Bean Mastercard, along with free shipping on all orders when you use it—no minimum purchase necessary.
Tech
What Is That Mysterious Metallic Device US Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia Is Using?
Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb and the US Chief Design Officer appointed by Trump, was spotted in San Francisco today using a mysterious metallic device. In a social media post on X viewed over 500,000 times, a man who looks like Gebbia sits with an espresso at a coffee shop. He’s wearing metallic buds that bisect his ears, with a matching clamshell-shaped disc in front of him on the counter.
After the video was posted Monday morning, social media users were quick to suggest that this could be some kind of prototype from OpenAI’s upcoming line of hardware devices designed in partnership with famed Apple designer Jony Ive. An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment on the potential Gebbia video after WIRED reached out. Gebbia also did not respond to a request for comment.
The device Gebbia appears to be wearing looks quite similar to the hardware seen in a fake OpenAI ad that was widely circulated on Reddit and social media in February. That video from last month seemingly showed Pillion actor Alexander Skarsgård interacting with an AI device that had a similar-looking pair of earbuds and a circular disc. At the time, OpenAI denounced the widely seen video as not real. “Fake news,” wrote OpenAI President Greg Brockman at the time, responding to a social media post.
The earbuds seen in the video of Gebbia also look quite similar in shape to the Huawei FreeClip 2, a pair of open earbuds released earlier this year. However, the clamshell seen on the coffee counter next to Gebbia is different from Huawei’s most recent headphone case. It would also be quite surprising if a government official were seen using Huawei tech, considering the Chinese company is effectively banned from selling its phones in the US due to security concerns.
WIRED’s audio experts say he’s most likely wearing open earbuds, as Gebbia’s pair share some similarities with Soundcore’s AeroClips or Sony’s LinkBuds Clip, though the cases for those buds don’t match what’s on the table in front of Gebbia. WIRED also ran the photo and video through software that attempts to identify AI-generated outputs and other deepfakes. The detection software, from a company called Hive, says the odds are low that this imagery of Gebbia was generated by AI. Still, AI detectors are not always reliable and can include false outputs. It’s possible that the entire post could be a synthetic hoax.
Could this be some kind of soft launch teaser for OpenAI’s hardware? The timing of this trickle out would make sense, since the company may ship devices to consumers sometime early in 2027. Still, OpenAI denied any involvement with the previous pseudo-ad for the metallic AI hardware, with its shiny earbuds and matching disc.
Tech
The ‘European’ Jolla Phone Is an Anti-Big-Tech Smartphone
“There are Chinese components as well—we are totally open about it—but the key is that as we compile the software ourselves and install it in Finland, we protect the integrity of the product,” Pienimäki says.
What makes Sailfish OS unique over competitors like GrapheneOS or e/OS is that it’s not based on the Android Open Source Project, but Linux. That means it has no ties to Google—no need for the company to “deGoogle” the software; meaning there’s a greater sense of sovereignty over the software (and now the hardware). Still, it’s able to run Android apps, though the implementation isn’t perfect. Another common criticism is that it’s not as secure as options like GrapheneOS, where every app is sandboxed.
There’s a good chance some Android apps on Sailfish OS will run into issues, which is why in the startup wizard, the phone will ask if you want to install services like MicroG—open source software that can run Google services on devices that don’t have the Google Play Store, making it an easier on-ramp for folks coming from traditional smartphones without a technical background. You don’t even need to create a Sailfish OS account to use the Jolla Phone.
Jolla’s effort is hardly the first to push the anti-Big Tech narrative. A wave of other hardware and software companies offer a “deGoogled” experience, whether that’s Murena from France and its e/OS privacy-friendly operating system, or the Canadian GrapheneOS, which just announced a partnership with Motorola. At CES earlier this year, the Swiss company Punkt also teamed up with ApostrophyOS to deploy its software on the new MC03 smartphone. Jolla is following a broader European trend of reducing reliance on US companies, like how French officials ditched Zoom for French-made video conference software earlier this year.
The Phone
A common problem with these niche smartphones is that they inevitably end up costing a lot of money for the specs. Take the Light Phone III, for example, a fairly low-tech anti-smartphone that doesn’t enjoy the benefits of economies of scale, resulting in an outlandish $699 price. The Jolla Phone is in a similar boat, though the specs-to-value ratio is a little more respectable.
It’s powered by a midrange MediaTek Dimensity 7100 5G chip with 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, plus a microSD card slot and dual-SIM tray. There’s a 6.36-inch 1080p AMOLED screen, the two main cameras, and a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. The 5,500-mAh battery cell is fairly large considering the phone’s size, though the phone’s connectivity is a little dated, stuck with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4.
Uniquely, the Jolla Phone brings back “The Other Half” functional rear covers from the original. These swappable back covers have pogo pins that interface with the phone, allowing people to create unique accessories like a second display on the back of the phone or even a keyboard attachment. There’s an Innovation Program where the community can cocreate functional covers together and 3D print them. And yes, a removable rear cover means the Jolla Phone’s battery is user-replaceable.
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