12.5, no, this isn't the odds for the @UNC_Basketball game tomorrow.
12.5x is how many more robots China is utilizing in its workforce compared to expert predictions, according to the South China Morning Post.
A @Bloomberg article states that China has goals to build a humanoid robot by 2025.
China graduates over 1.6 million engineering and science graduates every year, many with a focus on robotics.
Now, what is one of the drivers of the increased interest in engineering in China? Entertainment, yes, entertainment.
Leagues like the RoboMaster University League, where university students from China and across the world compete.
Thousands of fans gather in a large-scale arena, affixed with light shows, stages, and a @ufc-style cage where the robots fight it out.
Now, on the flip side, U.S. engineering graduates in areas like electrical engineering dropped 19% between 2005-2012. The U.S. is experiencing a shortage of engineers in many disciplines, according to @BCG: "one in three engineering roles will remain unfilled each year through at least 2030."
But sports and esports are on the rise, with esports growing at 15-20% per year in the U.S., and upstart sports like pickleball growing by millions of players per year.
Now, @rival_robotics is merging sports, robotics, and engineering to bring robo wars to the mainstream in the U.S. One of the major end goals is to create elite robotic engineers through these competitions.
Hopefully, we will see @rival_robotics at @cryptocomarena soon...
@rival_robotics, founded by @aaronlucas21, is currently hosting robotic competitions every Friday in San Francisco.
Learn more here: https://rivalrobotics.co