Combat Robots at IFA: Are We Glorifying Violence?

At the IFA trade show in Berlin in September 2026, robots were the absolute stars, but combat robots were especially conspicuous. CNET lead writer Katie Collins witnessed an EngineAI T800 humanoid robot roaming the aisles, which adopted a boxing stance and faked a punch at her. Although she was about a meter away and not touched, the experience left her deeply skeptical about the industry's current trajectory.

Combat robots were nearly everywhere at IFA. Besides the T800, a knee-high PrimeBOT Q1 bounced like an energetic puppy, performing aggressive moves and even lunging at people's knees. The hall also featured humanoid boxing arenas for robot-versus-robot fights. Some tech firms that do not produce robots displayed such machines as attention-grabbing props.\n\nCollins views this as a quiet acceptance of violence as entertainment. She points out that animal fights and human combats have historically been used as amusement, and introducing robots might be an inevitable extension.\n\nHowever, the problem is that autonomous robots are already used to inflict real violence in some parts of the world: drones are widely employed by militaries, and some defense agencies are actively exploring humanoid robots on the battlefield. When this capability is packaged as harmless entertainment, the public's risk perception becomes desensitized.

Collins' worries are not unfounded. She noted that the T800 robot, in a full-contact combat match in China last month, continued wielding its weapon even after its head was knocked off. At IFA, visitors were allowed to face the same model in a boxing ring. She questioned, "I don't know its capabilities, whether it has safety measures, any judgment, or whether it knows when to stop."\n\nThis contrasts sharply with its industrial settings. At an Amazon fulfillment center, whenever a person entered a robot work area, all robots would pause their activities—though they are not even humanoid robots. The strict safety protocols in industrial deployments stand in stark contrast to the permissive atmosphere at the expo, where robots interacted freely with the public.

Collins argues that robots are machines invented by humans, and humans have the choice of what roles they play. Violent autonomous machines are not worth celebrating; even if technically feasible, we should not build, display, or package them as harmless entertainment.\n\nThe continuous learning nature of physical AI may improve safety over time, but the field is not yet at an ideal state. In this phase requiring extensive safety testing and regulation, allowing robots with aggressive behaviors to freely interact with the public may be premature.\n\nShe writes, "It is time to stop glorifying violence between robots." This is not an anti-robot stance but a reminder to the robot industry about safety culture and public responsibility.