Dozens of humanoid robots competed alongside 12,000 athletes at the Beijing Half Marathon. Notably, one robot broke the human world record.
On April 19th, a humanoid robot manufactured in China made history by surpassing the best human performance in a half-marathon.
Specifically, the robot developed by Honor completed the 21km race in just 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This achievement officially broke the world record of approximately 57 minutes set by male athlete Jacob Kiplimo last month. This is a significant leap forward compared to last year's competition, when the winning machine took over 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete the race.
At this year's race, dozens of humanoid robots ran alongside approximately 12,000 athletes on a specially designed lane to avoid collisions. Organizers stated that nearly half of the robots were capable of autonomous navigation, while the rest required remote control. Despite achieving impressive speeds, the race still saw some practical setbacks. Several machines stumbled at the starting line or lost their bearings and crashed into the safety barriers.
To achieve this incredible speed, engineers designed the champion robot to mimic the physique of professional athletes. It boasts legs nearly 1 meter long and an optimized cooling system to allow it to run continuously without overheating.
Engineer Du Xiaodi shared that core technologies such as load-bearing structures and liquid cooling systems in robots can be fully applied to industrial production in the future.