GDPS 2026: International Embodied AI Skills Competition Recruits University Teams
Embodied AI is transitioning from a showcase to a source of productivity. This year, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, launched the 2026 Humanoid Robots and Embodied AI Real-World Training Special Action. The initiative seeks global solutions for nine key scenarios: manufacturing, inspection and analysis, maintenance, warehousing and logistics, delivery and retail, healthcare and elderly care, work safety, emergency rescue, and disaster prevention and mitigation.
Shanghai, as a pioneer city, is undertaking this national mission. From October 23 to 25, the 2026 Global Developer Pioneer Summit (GDPS) and International Embodied AI Skills Competition will take place at the Zhangjiang Science Hall in Shanghai. This is a real-world test for university teams. It is not an ordinary competition: participation is a roadshow, and winning leads to financing. Only those tested on the competition floor represent true future productivity.
Who can participate? Student research teams from domestic and international universities and research institutions. Each team may have no more than five members, with at least one member experienced in model debugging or embodied AI operation.
How does the competition work? Phase one: scenarios and problems are co-created—scenario partners confirm collaboration, experts share real production pain points, and provide blueprints for scenario replication, turning enterprise pain points into competition topics. Phase two: setup and testing—teams work on-site to build and iteratively adjust against real production lines, with simulation environments closely matching reality. Phase three: simulation competition (October 23-25)—teams autonomously complete assigned tasks and face on-site generalization challenges, truly testing robot generalization capabilities.
Additionally, a simulation competition collects real scenario data from factories nationwide for online validation. Outstanding teams enter real-world training sites to empower production lines, with winning teams recommended for orders. Excellent projects are selected and recommended to the WAIC Embodied AI Exhibition. A three-way evaluation cross-validates: scientists led by Academician Yao Qizhi quantify motion precision, AI experts assess overall system maturity, and skilled masters measure real-world operations against human technician standards. With 9 scenarios and 23 competition events, the path to championship is clear.
Prizes: Winning teams receive rewards according to the competition rules. Champions of each track: tens of millions in investment connections, direct access to the 2026 Dubai Expo and the 2027 Shanghai International Auto Show Robot Zone. Second and third place: millions in financing connections. All winners: free professional FA financing coaching, cash prizes as a fallback, and one-on-one meetings with top investment institutions upon winning. Support: Pudong New Area subsidies for computing power, corpus, and model vouchers; free training camps; early access to simulation datasets; free office space in the Model Community and AI Town; and national media coverage such as CCTV. Embodied AI Work Permit: winning robots receive on-site certification, indicating the corresponding job type and capability certification.
For university teams: Teams from universities and research institutions do not need to win a ranking. As long as they genuinely participate, submit algorithm results, pass screening, and complete the real-world training in the semi-finals, they will receive a "Certificate of Honor" stamped by the Global Developer Pioneer Summit Organizing Committee, noting the team name, competition season, event, and algorithm capability. The only threshold is genuine algorithm ability. It is not issued to "participants who just go through the motions," but only certifies "real skills that withstand competition testing." For participating students, this certificate meets a direct need: it can be written into resumes as a hardcore endorsement for job hunting or further studies; used as proof for awards, evaluations, and comprehensive assessments; and serves as an authoritative credential for "participating in a top international event." Not by ranking, but by ability—registration starts here.
Registration: Global university recruitment is ongoing, with over 100 teams already assembled. Scan the QR code to register and let your masterpiece stand on the real-world arena. [GDPS Intended Teams · Scan to Register] Long-press to identify the mini-program code · Share the million-yuan prize pool · Team recruitment. WAIC "Sees the Future," GDPS "Makes the Future" | "Labor is Glorious" International Embodied AI Skills Competition global recruitment launched.