Humanoid robots at the half marathon: a game with the future?

Chinese robot run half marathon against humans

In Beijing there was a remarkable event in which humanoid robots against human participants competed in a half marathon. The route of 21,0975 kilometers stretched through the Yizhuang district, and 20 companies and research institutions presented their innovative models that met the requirements with two legs.

Despite the impressive technological basis, many robots had to deal with significant difficulties: At the event, some of them stopped at the start, while others were so slow that human participants were able to run away without any problems. In total, more than 10,000 people had registered for the run, which shows how great the interest in this technological experiment was.

In order to regulate competitive conditions, there were barriers that separated the running routes of the robots and humans. Engineers were allowed to adjust the robots during the race, but this was associated with time penalties. Ultimately, after 1 hour and 11 minutes, a human participant reached the goal, while the fastest robot horn with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. These differences raise questions about the competition and skills of the humanoid machines.

Experts rate the event as a test for the practical possible uses of humanid robots. In addition to the hardware, the software control of the movements is also crucial, since robots have to be able to perceive their surroundings and react to them. The half marathon could be seen as a PR campaign to demonstrate China's technological resources, while the competition shows at the same time what challenges the development of autonomous robots will continue to bring.

The importance of such events increases, since they not only show the progress in robotics, but also stand in a global competition, especially towards the USA. The technological race between these two nations emphasizes the ambitions that both China and the United States put into the development of humanoid robots, which may lead to an important market in the coming years.

In the future, robots are to be increasingly integrated into various industries, be it in production facilities or in the logistics sector. China's state initiative to promote robotics and AI technologies is reflected in the ambitions to position the nation as a guide in this promising area.