Winter Olympics Wrap Up | Cutting-Edge Tech Takes Center Stage as Pandemic Prevention Robot "Benben" Steals the Show!

On February 20th, the Beijing Winter Olympics concluded successfully. From start to finish, the games have left us with countless unforgettable moments. These include not only the stunning beauty of Chinese culture during the opening and closing ceremonies, but also the remarkable athletic achievements and the groundbreaking technologies that impressed the world.

On January 30th, 2022, an American Olympian filmed a vlog where he encountered our robot, "Benben." When the athlete greeted Benben with a casual “hi,” the robot responded with, “Please wear a medical mask!” This video quickly went viral, trending under the hashtag #RobotRemindsAthleteToWearMask during the Chinese New Year and Winter Olympics. Robot Benben instantly became a media sensation.

The video was also shared by Zhao Lijian, Deputy Director of the Information Department and the 31st spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Weibo.By rough estimate, the video of Benben has been reposted by over 100 media outlets, including Global Times, China Daily, Xinhua News, Beijing Youth Daily, Phoenix News, and more. It has spread across platforms like Weibo, TikTok, WeChat, Tencent Video, Youku, Bilibili, NetEase News, Xuexi Qiangguo, and Tencent.com. In total, the video has racked up billions of views, earning widespread praise from netizens.

Xinhua’s domestic report on their app “A Thousand Cities, A Hundred Perspectives | Fujian: Robots at the Winter Olympics Showcasing China's High-Tech” alone garnered 1.064 million views. Internationally, the report was published on Facebook and YouTube in Japanese, English, and Portuguese, and was further picked up by Agence France-Presse.