A first in the world: Robots ran in the same race with people – Cyprus Newspaper

There was a historical first in China. The two -legged humanoid robots competed in an official half marathon where people attended for the first time. Despite impressive technology, robots were behind human competitors.

The half marathon took place in the Yizhuang region in southeast of Beijing. This region is home to important technology companies of the capital. Robots on the 21 -kilometer course, ran with about 12 thousand people. He proceeded in the strips specifically for robots.

There were some challenges in the race: small slopes, bends and long distance… Just as people give water breaks, robots were also granted the right to battery replacement. However, each spare robot use was reflected in the race time as a 10 -minute penalty.

Winning Robot: Tiangong Ultra

The first robot to complete the race was Tiangong Ultra, 1.8 meters long developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. The robot completed the course in 2 hours and 40 minutes. This time is far from 56 minutes, the world’s world record.

The robot has only made battery replacement. However, due to balance problems, an official ran behind the race during the race. Most robots ran with similar support, while others were directed with collar or remote control.

« We left behind the robots in the West »

Tang Jian, the technology manager of the center, said that Tiangong Ultra’s long legs and a special algorithm that mimic human run is advantageous. “I don’t want to exaggerate, but no robot in the West can compete with Tiangong in terms of sports achievements,” he said.

Recently, China’s humanoid robots have often been on the internet with capabilities such as cycling, kicking and somersault. These developments are seen as part of China’s effort to capture the US in the technological race.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technologies described humanoid robot technology as “new front in technological competition” in a document published in 2023. Objective: To create a mass production and powerful supply chain until 2025.

People are still ahead

The race reunited the discussions of artificial intelligence and whether the robots can pass people in the future, but at least showed that people are still superior to running.

Amateur human athletes running next to the robots, robots easily passed. Many of them viewed this interesting race with their mobile phones.