China hosted the world’s first humanoid robot half marathon today in Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Area (E-Town), specifically at the Yizhuang Half Marathon. It’s a wild milestone, blending human and robot runners on a 13-mile course.
For the first time ever, 21 humanoid robots raced alongside roughly 12,000 human runners in a half marathon. The robots, developed by Chinese companies like DroidUP, Noetix Robotics, and the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, competed in a fenced-off lane for safety, starting simultaneously with humans at 7:30 AM from the South Square of Nanhaizi Park (Phase I) and finishing at the National Information Technology Application Innovation Industrial Park by Tongming Lake.
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Put simply, the requirements were that robots had to be bipedal, humanoid in appearance, and between 1.5 to 6.5 feet tall. They could be remote-controlled, semi-autonomous, or fully autonomous. Battery swaps were allowed, but each swap incurred a 10-minute penalty.
Who won? The star was most certainly Tiangong Ultra, a 5.9-foot-tall robot from the Beijing Innovation Center. Its long legs and AI-powered algorithm replicating human marathon running helped it clinch first place among robots with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, though it needed three battery swaps and a human helper to prevent falls.
Not all robots shone. One fell flat at the starting line, taking minutes to recover, while another crashed into a railing, tripping its operator. Most needed human support crews, some even on leashes, highlighting stability issues. Tiangong Ultra took the robot category at 2:40, but it was outpaced by the human men’s winner, who clocked a blazing 1 hour and 2 minutes. The top robot finisher earned 5,000 yuan ($690). Awards also went to categories like best gait, most popular robot, and simply crossing the finish line
