A humanoid robot completed a half marathon in China faster than the human world record.
At the race held in Beijing, the winning robot of Honor completed a distance of 21 km in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to information from the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. This achievement surpassed the world human record set by athlete Jacob Kiplimo with about 57 minutes.
This result marks a major step forward compared to last year's tournament, when the winning robot took 2 hours 40 minutes 42 seconds to complete the same distance. The scale of this year's event also increased sharply with more than 100 participating teams, nearly 5 times larger, including 5 international teams.
Despite achieving impressive results, the race could not avoid incidents. One robot fell right on the starting line, while another robot crashed into a barrier. About 40% of participating robots are capable of self-guidance, the rest are remotely controlled.
Another robot takes on the role of traffic coordination, using hand gestures and voice to guide teams. These applications reflect the diverse development level of robot technology.
The event takes place in the context of China stepping up technological competition, considering this a field of national security significance. The new 5-year plan sets a goal to develop advanced technologies, including humanoid robots and related applications.
According to research organization Omdia, three Chinese companies including AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics and UBTech Robotics Corp are ranked in the leading group globally in the number of multi-functional smart robots shipped, with each company reaching over 1,000 products, of which two companies exceeded 5,000 units in the past year.
