Humanoid robots outpaced humans for the first time in a half-marathon in Beijing, having been left in the dust a year earlier.
The 21km course wound through Beijing’s Yizhuang district, with human runners joining robotic contenders from 100 companies and research institutions.
The remote-controlled robot Lightning technically finished first with a time of 48 minutes and 19 seconds. However, under the event’s weighted scoring rules, the robot Shandian was declared the winner with a time of 50:26.
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo holds the men’s half-marathon world record with a time of 57:20, set at the Lisbon Half Marathon in March.
Barriers separated the robots’ running track from their human competitors. The course was designed to test the robots’ capabilities, incorporating more than 10 types of terrain, including flat roads, slopes, curves and narrow sections.
This year’s race was about five times the size of the inaugural event and, for the first time, included five international teams from countries including France, Germany and Brazil. — Bernama
