Robot races to victory in Beijing half-marathon
A robot has entered the record books as it triumphed in the half marathon in Beijing, leaving human runners in the dust.
The futuristic race, held in the Chinese capital on Sunday (19.04.26), saw humanoid machines race over 13 miles, showcasing cutting-edge robotic technology. And this year’s winner not only improved on their past performance, but also shattered expectations.
The victorious robot, developed by smartphone giant Honor, crossed the finish line in an incredible time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This is much faster than the human world record set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who clocked nearly 57 minutes in the Lisbon road race earlier this year.
This marks a surprising leap forward from last year’s robot winner, which took more than two and a half hours to complete the same distance.
Despite the headline-grabbing victory, the race was not without its teething problems. One robot overturned at the starting line, while another veered off course and crashed into a barrier.
Still, the team behind the winning machine was thrilled with the result.
“Looking ahead, some of these technologies can be transferred to other areas. For example, structural reliability and liquid cooling technology can be applied in future industrial scenarios,” said Du Xiaodi, Honor’s test development engineer.
He explained that the robot was designed to mimic elite human runners, has 95cm long legs and a powerful in-house liquid cooling system that prevents overheating.
The event, held in Beijing’s Economic-Technological Development Zone, was the second robot-only half marathon held in the city. About 40 percent of the machines navigated the course autonomously, while others relied on remote control.
A separate Honor robot actually recorded an even faster time of 48 minutes and 19 seconds, but it was operated remotely and did not take the official crown.
Viewers were stunned by this rapid development.
Viewer Sun Zhigang said: “I feel huge changes this year. For the first time, robots have surpassed humans, and this is something I never imagined.”
Another participant, Wang Wen, added: “The speed of robots far exceeds that of humans. This may signal the arrival of a kind of new era.”
