A Humanoid Robot Shatters Records in Beijing
A humanoid robot made a remarkable breakthrough during a half-marathon race for robots held in Beijing on Sunday. The winning robot, developed by Honor, a prominent Chinese smartphone manufacturer, completed the 21-kilometre course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This achievement was faster than the human world record set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes at the Lisbon road race in March.
The race, organized by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town), marked a significant leap forward from last year’s inaugural event, where the winning robot took over two hours to complete the race. This year’s performance showcased rapid advancements in robotics technology, highlighting China’s growing prowess in the field.
Despite the impressive results, the competition was not without its challenges. Some robots encountered difficulties during the race, with one falling flat at the start line and another bumping into a barrier. However, the overall progress was celebrated by participants and spectators alike.
Du Xiaodi, a test development engineer at Honor, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance. He explained that the robot was designed to emulate top human athletes, featuring long legs of approximately 95 centimetres. The robot also incorporated a powerful liquid-cooling system, largely developed in-house. Du noted that some of these technologies could be applied in future industrial scenarios, such as improving structural reliability and cooling systems.
The event drew a mix of human and robotic competitors, with spectators expressing awe at the capabilities of the robots. Sun Zhigang, who attended last year’s race, watched this year’s event with his son. “I feel enormous changes this year,” he said. “It’s the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that’s something I never imagined.”
Wang Wen, another spectator, observed that the robots had stolen much of the spotlight from human runners. “The robots’ speed far exceeds that of humans,” he said. “This may signal the arrival of a new era.”
According to Beijing E-Town, around 40 per cent of the robots navigated the course autonomously, while the rest were remotely controlled. State media outlet Global Times reported that a separate, remotely controlled robot from Honor crossed the finish line first in 48 minutes and 19 seconds. However, the official winner used autonomous navigation and received the championship under the event’s weighted scoring rules.
State broadcaster CCTV highlighted that the runners-up, also from Honor and using autonomous navigation, finished the race in approximately 51 minutes and 53 minutes respectively. A robot even served as a traffic officer, directing participants with arm gestures and voice commands.
In China, technological advancement has become a key area of competition with the United States, with national security implications. Beijing’s latest five-year plan emphasizes targeting the frontiers of science and technology, with a focus on accelerating the development and application of products like humanoid robots.
Recent research from London-based technology firm Omdia ranked three Chinese companies — AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech Robotics Corp — as the only first-tier vendors in its global assessment for shipment numbers of general-purpose embodied intelligent robots. These companies collectively shipped more than 1000 units of robots last year, with AGIBOT and Unitree Robotics exceeding 5000 units each.
