The humanoid robots were unable to outperform their human opponents in the Beijing half-marathon.
Humans easily maintained their lead over the robots, securing victory at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing.
On Saturday, thousands of runners participated alongside 21 humanoid robots in a groundbreaking 21km (13 miles, 352 yards) race.
However, not all robots performed well. One fell shortly after the race began and remained motionless for several minutes before getting back up. Another collided with a barrier after just a few steps, taking its handler down with it.
While some robots did reach the finish line, they finished significantly behind the human runners. The Tiangong Ultra, created by the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, completed the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes, while the male winner finished over an hour earlier.
“Overall, these are intriguing demonstrations,” remarked Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, “but they don’t really showcase much in terms of practical work or any form of basic intelligence.”
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“The robots are performing exceptionally well and are quite stable… I feel like I’m witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,” commented He Sishu, a local AI engineer observing from the sidelines.
While technically part of the competition, the robots were not fully autonomous competitors. Each was accompanied by a team of engineers, and some required physical assistance to remain upright.
Chinese companies such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics presented robots of various shapes and sizes, with a few even wearing boxing gloves and headbands. Officials compared the event more to motorsport than a conventional race.
Tang Jian, CTO at Tiangong’s lab, stated that they intend to shift their focus toward real-world applications: “Moving forward, we will concentrate on industrial uses… so that they can genuinely enter factories, business environments, and eventually homes.”
