While driving down an East Texas country road I spotted this scene. The autumn trees and the late afternoon sun made these golden bales of hay shine just a little bit more. Fortunately I had my camera with me. (c) James Q. Eddy Jr.

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Circuit training: How China is teaching humanoid robots to do useful things

NPR | By John Ruwitch

Published September 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM CDT

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China has made developing and selling humanoid robots an economic priority, but getting robots to work requires hours of repetitive "training" done by people to create data about the physical world.

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John Ruwitch

John Ruwitch is a correspondent with NPR's international desk. He covers Chinese affairs.