Humanoid Robots Race in China: First Half-Marathon for PR Pioneers!

During the weekend, people raced at top speed with robots pursuing them through the streets of Beijing, China.

To clarify, this was a half-marathon event, during which the robots performed significantly worse compared to their human counterparts.

On Saturday, China hosted what they claim to be the world’s inaugural humanoid half-marathon. According to reports from the state-owned newspaper Beijing Daily, more than twenty two-legged robotic humanoids raced alongside actual human runners. CNN World The teams represented Chinese universities and corporations showcasing their progress in human-like robots, an area deemed crucial for rivaling the U.S., as labeled by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

According to CNN, local administrations in key urban centers such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have allocated approximately $10 billion towards advancing humanoid robots in order to rival those developed by American competitors including Boston Dynamics and Figure AI. Elon Musk's Tesla .

China may be closing the gap on developing humanoid robotics, but the robots competing in the half-marathon couldn't keep up with the human racers. The first humanoid, Tiangong Ultra from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, crossed the finish line in two hours and 40 minutes. That was far behind the human winner in the men's category, who completed the half-marathon in one hour and two minutes, the outlet reported.

Robotics teams could re-up their humanoids with new battery packs and swap in replacement robots for a 10-minute penalty. Tiangong Ultra needed three battery changes and required handlers to run alongside it in case it fell along the zig-zagging route with mild elevations of less than nine degrees, said Beijing Daily.

Other robotic contestants required similar levels of human oversight, with some depending on leashes or remote controls. Photos from the event showed that certain bots stumbled during their runs. Some were dressed in accessories like running shoes, sun hats, bibs, and windbreakers. Another humanoid bot featured an eerily lifelike head complete with a stylish short haircut, eyelashes, and makeup.

This time, the robots did not claim victory in the race, but China aims to demonstrate its seriousness as a contender in the field of humanoid robotics. The country has its sights set firmly on future success.

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