China holds first-ever half-marathon race between humans and robots
19 April 2025, 07:21
The first-ever half-marathon race between robots and humans has taken place in China.
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Thousands of runners lined up next to 21 humanoid robots for the 13-mile race in Beijing on Saturday.
The robots, some as small as 3ft 9, with others as tall as 5ft 9, were able to walk and run on two legs, with wheels being banned from the contest.
While the robots were able to complete with race, the fastest automaton finished the run in 2 hours and 40 minutes; they still have some way to go before they compete with humans.
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Robot winner Tiangong Ultra finished over an hour and 30 minutes behind the men’s race winner.
Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the creator of Tiangong Ultra said: "I don't want to boast, but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements.”
Despite its rapid pace, the Tiangong Ultra had to be charged three times during the run.
One of the robots fell at the starting line but impressively got up after a few minutes and joined the race.
Another crashed into a railing, leading its human operator to fall over.
Most of the robots were accompanied by human operators for the duration of the race.
Some even wore running shoes, adding to the uncanny sight.
Robot technology in China has been expanding at a rapid pace in recent years, with the People's Liberation Army using mechanical dogs in a recent display.
