The runners were faster at the half marathon in China – Diepresse.com

Several humanoid robots measured themselves in Beijing in a half marathon with people. After 2 hours 40 minutes and 24 seconds, the fastest person (1:11:07) of the Humanoid « Tiangong » was the first robot over the finish line. A second robot followed almost an hour later.

The 21,0975 km long route led through the Yizhuang district of Beijing. 20 companies and research institutions participated with their models, which among other things had to meet the rule of having two legs. Some remained immediately at the start, as could be seen in a broadcast of Chinese state television. According to the organizer, more than 10,000 runners had registered on the part of the human participants.

People and robots ran in separate areas

Special feature in this race: barriers separated the robots from their human competitors. There were also special rules: the engineers were allowed to readjust on the go on their high-tech protégés. The run was more likely to be a technical demonstration. No robot had a real chance of overall victory. China’s government wants to particularly promote development in the field of artificial intelligence and robots this year. (APA/dpa)