A child was hit by a robot while it was performing martial arts in Xinjiang, China.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing the child being hit in the stomach by the robot. The child falls to the ground in pain.
Support the TIME. Preserve the truth.
Professional journalism is in the public interest. Your support helps it remain independent and credible. Contribute too. 1 euro makes a difference.
Letter to the Reader — Why We're Asking for Your Support ContributeThe performance was stopped after the incident.
China has been investing heavily in robotics to produce robots that can resemble humans. Although it has made significant progress in this field, the robots are still far from perfect.
A similar incident occurred during a performance at a school in Xinjiang, where the robot began performing uncontrolled kung fu moves towards the audience.
VIDEO:
A robot in China wearing a clown wig roundhouse kicked a child in the stomach pic.twitter.com/lFrfEyNgUT
—Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) June 5, 2026