Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots demonstrated their fast-improving athleticism and autonomous navigation skills during a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday. The event highlighted rapid technical advances in the sector as the robots whizzed past human runners.
For the first time, humanoid robots outclassed humans in the competition. The winning robot recorded a time faster than the men's world record for the distance, which was set by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in March.
More than 300 humanoid robots participated in China's second robot half-marathon, facing tougher terrain designed to test their technical advancements. Beijing seeks to develop the industry into a major pillar of its economy. To avoid collisions with humans, more than 100 robots ran in parallel tracks.
This year's performance showed significant improvement over the inaugural edition, where most robots were unable to finish and many struggled to get off the starting line. Despite the progress, the race still experienced some hiccups, including one robot falling flat at the start line and another bumping into a barrier.