2 min learnNew DelhiApr 19, 2026 09:35 AM IST
Dozens of Chinese language-made humanoid robots confirmed off their fast-improving athleticism as they whizzed previous human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, having lagged far behind a yr earlier.
The race’s inaugural version final yr was riddled with mishaps, as many robots struggled to get off the beginning line, and most have been unable to complete.
The champion robotic recorded a time of two hours 40 minutes, comfortably forward of its machine rivals, however greater than double the time of the human winner of the traditional race.
The distinction with this yr was stark. Not solely had the variety of robots operating elevated from 20 to greater than 100, however a number of vying for the rostrum have been noticeably sooner than the skilled athletes racing within the human race.
The robots and people ran in parallel tracks to keep away from collisions.
The profitable robotic, developed by Honor, a widely known Chinese language smartphone maker, completed the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a number of minutes sooner than the world document set by Jacob Kiplimo final month in Lisbon, although the humanoid needed to be helped again up simply metres from the end line after crashing into the railing.
Whereas economically beneficial purposes of humanoid robots stay in trial section, the marathon’s showcasing of these machines’ bodily prowess highlights their potential to reshape every little thing from harmful jobs to fight on the battlefield.
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China has the objective of changing into a powerhouse in this frontier trade, and it has enacted a variety of insurance policies from subsidies to infrastructure tasks to domesticate native corporations.
China’s most-watched TV present, the annual CCTV Spring Competition gala, in February showcased the nation’s push to dominate humanoid robots and the way forward for manufacturing.
That included a prolonged martial arts demonstration the place over a dozen Unitree humanoids carried out refined combat sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in shut proximity to human youngsters performers.
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