Humans took the lead over robots and kept it easily as they raced to victory at Beijing’s Yizhuang half-marathon.
Thousands of runners joined 21 humanoid robot rivals in a world-first 21km (13 miles, 352 yards) challenge in the Chinese capital on Saturday.
But not every bot was up to the task. One collapsed moments after the starting gun and lay motionless for minutes before regaining its feet. Another slammed into a barrier after only a few strides, taking its handler down with it.
Some machines made it to the finish line but still trailed the humans badly. Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, clocked a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The men’s winner finished more than an hour earlier.
“Generally, these are interesting demonstrations,” said Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, “but they don’t demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence.”
“The robots are running very well, very stable… I feel I’m witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,” said He Sishu, a local AI engineer watching from the sidelines.
Though technically in the race, the robots weren’t exactly autonomous athletes. Each one came with a team of engineers, and some needed physical support to stay upright.
Chinese firms like DroidVP and Noetix Robotics fielded bots of all shapes and sizes, with a few even donning boxing gloves and headbands. Officials likened the event more to motorsport than a traditional race.
Tang Jian, CTO at Tiangong’s lab, said they plan to shift focus to real-world tasks: “A focus going forward will be industrial applications … so they can truly enter factories, business scenarios, and finally households.”
