A humanoid robot competing against flesh-and-blood runners broke the world record in a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday, showing the rapid technological advances achieved by Chinese manufacturers.
Spectators lined the roads of Yizhuang in the capital’s south to watch the machines and their human rivals race, each group in a separate lane to avoid accidents or collisions.
Some of the robots were very agile and moved like famous runners like Usain Bolt, while others had more basic abilities.
The winning humanoid, equipped with an autonomous navigation system and driving for Chinese smartphone maker Honor, completed the roughly 21-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds at an average speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
That was far faster than the top man in Sunday’s race, while also surpassing the current men’s world record of 57:20 held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo.
The result represented spectacular progress from last year, when robot runners fell repeatedly and the best took more than two hours and 40 minutes to finish.
The number of humanoid entries rose from about 20 last year to more than 100, according to organizers, a sign of the sector’s growing popularity.
‘Pretty cool’
Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old student who watched the race behind a security barrier, barely had time to take out his phone and take a photo of the leading robot as it sped by.
She told AFP she was excited about such technological leaps and thought the event was “pretty cool”.
But, she added, “as someone who works for a living, sometimes I’m a little worried about that. I feel like technology is moving so fast that it could start affecting people’s jobs,” especially with artificial intelligence becoming more and more sophisticated.
Humanoid robots have become a common sight in China in recent years, in the media as well as in public space.
Xie Lei, 41, who watched Sunday’s race with his family, said robots could “become part of our daily lives” within several years, potentially used for “things like housework, elderly companionship or basic care” or “dangerous jobs, even firefighting”.
The Humanoid Half Marathon aims to encourage innovation and popularize the technologies used to create and operate such machines.
In a sign of the industry’s strength, investment in robotics and so-called embodied AI will reach 73.5 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in China by 2025, according to a survey by a government agency.
“For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet Earth. But now look at robots. Just in terms of autonomous navigation, at least in this specific sporting event, they’re already starting to surpass us,” Xie said.
“On the one hand, it makes you feel a little bit sad for humanity. But at the same time, technology, especially in recent years, has given us so much imagination.”
