The World's First Skiing Robot Is Lame

This is not a news story. This is a roast.

Chinese company LimX Dynamics recently posted a YouTube video of its TRON 1 robot "conquering" the slopes of a ski area in -20°C. The small, bipedal robot, attached to two small skis, navigates a flat slope amid fanfare and hubbub.

"Graceful slope run, zero skidding all the way," reads one caption of the 48-second video. "Cruising the runs steady as a pro," reads another as the robot bumbles and fumbles its way down an embarrassingly flat trail.

Robots, and the AI that will inevitably control them, are coming for seemingly every facet of life, but, at least after watching the video below of the first skiing robot, I have confidence in one thing—It's going to be a long time before the clankers are taking jobs from professional skiers.

Tap or click below to watch the world's first skiing robot. Keep reading if you want to join me in roasting it.

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Roasting The World's First Skiing Robot

• This AT-AT-looking robot wouldn't stand a chance in a ski race against my 5-year-old cousin.
• "Steady as a pro"?! Are you kidding me? That robot is as steady as a British tourist after six hours of Euro-style après in the sunshine.
• Oh, this robot was able to slide down a trail in -20°C? Let's see it try sitting with its butt frozen to a Vermont double on a cloudy day that's -15°F and somehow still raining. Consider me not impressed.
• Was I supposed to applaud when the robot stabilized itself as it skied down the slope? Because I laughed thinking about how easy it would be to kick, slap, or ski into one of these things and knock it into a snowbank.
• Did you see that first-person POV?! WOW. It's so cool how the robot has to shake violently to maintain a steady horizon as it barely makes it down a bunny hill. Strap a GoPro to my 5-year-old cousin. The footage will be way better, and smoother.
• I'd love to see this clanker try to ski a mogul field. Its knees bend the wrong way to absorb impact. Loser.
• Check out the robot's form. Does it even know how to turn? Seems like every clip shows it sliding straight down and making weird adjustments so it doesn't faceplant like a Jerry. It definitely doesn't know how to pizza. Again, my 5-year-old cousin knows how to pizza like a champ.