A humanoid robot competing against flesh-and-blood runners broke the world record at a Beijing half-marathon yesterday, showcasing the rapid technological advancement achieved by Chinese makers.
Spectators lined the roads in 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 highly agile, moving like famous runners such as Usain Bolt, while others had more basic capabilities.
The winning humanoid, equipped with an autonomous navigation system and running for smartphone maker Honor, completed the 21-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, at an average speed of about 25 kilometers per hour. That was far faster than the top human in yesterday’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 jumped from around 20 last year to more than 100, a sign of the sector’s growing popularity.
Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old student who watched the race from behind a safety barrier, barely had time to take out her phone and snap a picture of the leading robot as it whizzed past.
She described the event as “pretty cool.”
But she added: “I’m a little worried about it sometimes. I feel like technology is advancing so fast that it might start affecting people’s jobs,” particularly with artificial intelligence growing increasingly sophisticated.
Xie Lei, 41, said robots could “become part of our daily lives” within several years, potentially used for “things like housework, elderly companionship or basic caregiving” or “dangerous jobs, even firefighting.”
Investment in robotics and so-called embodied AI amounted to 73.5 billion yuan (HK$84.46 billion) in China in 2025, according to a study.
“For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet earth. But now, look at robots ... at least in this specific sport event, they’re already starting to surpass us,” Xie said. “On one hand, it does make you feel a little bit sad for humanity. But at the same time, technology has given us so much imagination.”
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
