Humanoid Robots Stride Into The Future With World’s First Half-Marathon

Updated Thursday 24 April 2025 11:0

on a world-first half marathon, dozens of humanoid robots, step by mechanical step, joined thousands of their human counterparts on Beijing's streets early on Saturday. This event demonstrated China's determination to lead the world in cutting-edge technology.

The 21-kilometer (13-mile) race was advertised as a ground-breaking attempt to test the boundaries of bipedal robots in real-world settings and took place in the Chinese capital's E-Town, a state-backed center for high-tech production.

The Chinese pop song "I Believe" rang out from loudspeakers as the robots took their first hesitant steps at the snap of the starter's gun.

With their phones ready to take pictures of each machine as it started the race, curious human runners lined the side of the route.

Did you know? You can comment on this post! Just scroll down

“We had set three goals for ourselves: first, to win the championship; second, to complete the entire half marathon with a single robot — a very important goal for us; and third, to finish the race in under three hours,” he said.

“We collected real-world running data from professional athletes and trained the robot so that its gait, cadence, stride length, and various postures could match those of professional runners as closely as possible.”

The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, first established by the government, is now owned by Chinese tech firms Xiaomi Robotics and UBTech Robotics as well as two state-owned companies, according to business data provider Tianyancha.

Enthusiastic onlookers cheered the robots on from the sidelines.

“My daughter… got up really early and asked to come watch the robot marathon,” spectator Huang Xiaoyu told AFP, holding her child.

“It was quite a breathtaking experience — we were able to see some of the most cutting-edge robots in our country.”

Tech race

Around 20 teams from across China participated in the competition, with robots ranging from 75 to 180 centimetres tall and weighing up to 88 kilograms.

Some jogged autonomously, while others were guided remotely by their engineers. Robots and human participants ran on separate tracks.

“Getting onto the race track might seem like a small step for humans, but it’s a giant leap for humanoid robots,” Liang Liang, Beijing E-Town’s management committee deputy director, told AFP.

Engineers said the goal was to test the performance and reliability of the androids — emphasising that finishing the race, not winning it, was the main objective.

“There are very few opportunities for the whole industry to run at full speed over such a long distance or duration,” Cui Wenhao, a 28-year-old engineer at Noetix Robotics, told AFP.

"The battery, motors, structure, and even the algorithms are being put to the test."

The competition will help "lay a foundation for a whole series of future activities involving humanoid robots," according to Kong Yichang, a 25-year-old engineer from DroidUp.

The second-biggest economy in the world, China, has positioned itself as a direct rival to the US by attempting to establish its supremacy in the domains of robots and artificial intelligence.

In January, Chinese start-up DeepSeek garnered notice with a chatbot it claimed was produced more cost-effectively than its US competitors.

At a televised Chinese New Year celebration, fans were also enthralled by dancing humanoid robots.

AFP

Article Posted 50 Minutes ago. You can post your own articles and it will be published for free. No Registration is required! But we review before publishing! Click here to get started