Robots and Humans Participate in a Half Marathon in China: Who Wins?

In the Beijing Half Marathon, 21 humanoid robots ran alongside humans. One of them, Tiangong Ultra, won the race, covering 21 kilometers in two hours and XNUMX minutes — more than half as long as the fastest human. Other robots were even less successful, reports CNN.

While robots have appeared in marathons before, this is the first time they have competed with humans over such a distance.

"What, is Dynamo running? - Everyone is running."

The track consisted of climbs, turns and rough sections. Some Robots were able to complete the race, while others struggled from the start. One fell at the starting line and lay there for a few minutes, then got up and ran again. The second ran a few meters and crashed into a fence, causing his human operator to fall.

All Robots were made in China by different companies. They came in all shapes and sizes: some were under 120 cm, others were about 180 cm. One company boasted that its smart machine looked almost like a real woman – it could wink and smile. Several of the robots ran in sneakers, one wore boxing gloves, and another wore a red armband with the words “Doomed to Win” written in Chinese.

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The companies tested their robots for weeks before the race. The mechanical runners arrived at the competition with their human coaches.

Given the need for engineering and navigation teams, the event resembled a car race.

The winning Tiangong Ultra was developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. It ran the distance in 2 hours 40 minutes. The human winner did it in 1 hour 2 minutes. The innovation center is 43% state-owned. The remaining share is equally divided between tech giant Xiaomi and China's leading humanoid robot company UBTech.

Tang Jian, the center's technical director, said the Tiangong Ultra's performance was due to its long legs and an algorithm that can simulate human running.

"I don't want to brag, but I don't think any Western robotics company has achieved the same level of athletic achievements as Tiangong," he said.

The robot changed batteries only three times during the entire race, he said. Going forward, the center plans to focus on developing industrial applications for humanoid robots, “so that they can truly enter factories, businesses, and eventually homes,” Jian said.

Alan Fern, a professor of computer science and robotics at Oregon State University, disagreed that this is a breakthrough in the use of AI. He said the software that allows humanoid robots to run was developed and demonstrated more than five years ago.

"Chinese companies are really focused on demonstrating walking, running, dancing and other acrobatic abilities. These are generally interesting demonstrations, but they say little about utilitarian utility or any basic intelligence," he concluded.