Robots compete along with humans in half marathon
In what is believed to be the first humanoid half marathon, more than 20 robots competed with humans in Beijing.
Never in a million years did anyone think that humanoid robots would compete with humans in a marathon.
Even after watching movies such as 'I, Robot', it was a reality that didn't quite seem possible or reasonable, for that matter. But it happened...
More than 20 humanoid robots competed with thousands of human runners in Beijing on Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Jacaranda FM reported, "The 21-kilometre (13-mile) event held in the Chinese capital's E-Town – a state-backed hub for high-tech manufacturing – is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions."
The race saw the humanoid robots line up and take their first steps in the marathon. Some stumbled and fell over, but their steps, however shaky and slow, marked a leap of success for Beijing E-Town's management committee deputy director, Liang Liang.
Watch some of the snippets from the marathon below – courtesy of Instagram.
While some humanoid robots ran independently, others were accompanied by their engineers who controlled them remotely. The robots and humans ran separately on different tracks.
The engineers explained that this race was aimed at testing the robots' performance and reliability, highlighting that completing the race was more their objective than winning it.
I think it's a big boost for the entire robotics industry. Honestly, there are very few opportunities for the whole industry to run at full speed over such a long distance or duration. It's a serious test for the battery, the motors, the structure – even the algorithms.
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Image courtesy of iStock