China showcased greater than 20 bipedal robots lin Beijing’s Yizhuang tech district on Saturday to compete in what was billed because the world’s first humanoid half-marathon.
Whereas the spectacle turned heads and showcased notable progress in robotics, not one of the machines got here near matching human endurance over the grueling 21-kilometer distance.
The occasion drew groups from Chinese language universities and tech corporations desirous to reveal the nation’s progress in humanoid robotics, a sector the place the Chinese language Communist Social gathering is aggressively making an attempt to shut the hole with the US, which continues to guide in cutting-edge fashions.
Robots race towards people in Beijing half-marathon.
The profitable robotic crossed the ending line in two hours and 40 minutes, whereas the boys’s winner of the race had a time of 1 hour and two minutes.https://t.co/xiwHaiOErH pic.twitter.com/SCfXfQiCzr
— Sky Information (@SkyNews) April 19, 2025
The robots assorted broadly in look and motion type, lurching, jogging, or wobbling alongside the course.
Many fell over and had been helped again as much as their toes by occasion organizers.
The chief of the profitable staff acknowledged that human runners nonetheless dominate in velocity and stamina however claimed that their robotic may rival U.S. counterparts in core technical capabilities.
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined hundreds of runners on the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing, the primary time these machines have raced alongside people over a 13-mile course https://t.co/xG960UMCyu pic.twitter.com/KOg7kwr3qT
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 19, 2025
Tang Jian, chief expertise officer of the Beijing Humanoid Robotic Innovation Heart which developed the robots, told reporters the corporate was “very proud of the outcomes”.
“We had set three targets for ourselves: first, to win the championship; second, to finish all the half marathon with a single robotic – a vital aim for us; and third, to complete the race in beneath three hours,” he stated.
21 humanoid robots ran a half-marathon towards people in Beijing this morning
Finest robotic time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Finest human time: 1 hour, 2 minutesThe robots in motion are a sight to behold:pic.twitter.com/z3gahWXAQi
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) April 19, 2025
“We collected real-world working information from skilled athletes and educated the robotic in order that its gait, cadence, stride size, and varied postures may match these {of professional} runners as carefully as attainable.”
With the worldwide race to develop purposeful humanoid robots heating up, the nation that finally ends up on prime of this technological arms race will possible achieve huge financial and technological benefits.
In current months, movies of Chinese language humanoid robots executing stunts, from using bicycles to performing backflips, have gone viral, usually with the assistance of state media desirous to highlight these advances as an indication of technological growth.
Wow, China has nearly perfected 4 legged robots.
Deep Robotics, a Hangzhou-based startup, simply began business gross sales of the X30 robotic canine:pic.twitter.com/CHaQ4PMulD
— Rowan Cheung (@rowancheung) November 13, 2024
