Humanoid robots take part in half-marathon together with humans
Humanoid robots are to run together with humans in a half-marathon in Beijing. The distance is a stumbling block for the robots.
Human runners and robots from Tiangong run together.
(Image: Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area)
More than 20 robotics companies that have developed humanoid robots are sending their developments to a half-marathon in Beijing. This was announced by the Chinese Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on Tuesday. The robot joggers will run together with 12,000 human runners and compete with them. However, the distance of 21.097 km is a technical challenge for the humanoid robots.
The participating humanoid robots must meet certain requirements. For example, they must have a humanoid shape and two mechanically operated legs that allow them to walk upright. Robots with wheels and four-legged robot dogs are excluded from participation. The size of the robots is also specified: they must be between approximately 49 and 198 cm tall. The leg length must be at least 45 cm, which virtually rules out humanoid robots in the lower size range.
The robot participants do not have to be completely autonomous. They may be remote-controlled by operators. This is likely to keep the number of participants high, as fully autonomous humanoid robots are rather rare.
A question of energy
However, the robots will not have it easy at the half-marathon, which is due to take place in Beijing in April. At around 21 km, the course is quite long and running with mechanical legs is very energy-intensive. The question will therefore be which robot from which robotics company will manage to cover the full distance. For example, a humanoid robot from the Chinese company Tiangong already took part in a half-marathon in 2024. However, it did not manage to complete the entire distance. It simply ran out of energy.
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In contrast, the humanoid robots are well positioned when it comes to running speed. The humanoid Star 1 robot from Robot Era, for example, reaches a speed of up to 12.98 km/h and thus holds a running record for humanoid robots. The Unitree H1, also from China, reaches 11.8 km/h. Theoretically, the robots could therefore break the two-hour mark set by the average human marathon runner. However, the human record for a half-marathon is currently 57:30 minutes and is held by the Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who set it in 2024.
The humanoid robots are otherwise on an equal footing with the human participants in the competition in Beijing. They will also receive a prize if one of them finishes in the top three.
(olb)
