Humanoid robots lower their half marathon record in almost two hours
The race is part of Beijing's strategy to boost the humanoid robotics industry
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BarcelonaThis Sunday, humanoid robots have reduced the time they set last year in the Beijing half marathon by almost two hours. Specifically, the Qitian Dasheng robot won with a time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds. The winning team, however, was not the fastest: the Shandian, which operates under remote control, completed the 21 kilometers of the race with a net time of 48 minutes and 19 seconds, despite suffering a fall 100 meters from the finish line. The fastest robot, however, was not declared the winner, because, according to the competition rules, the times of remotely controlled robots are multiplied by 1.2.
The test in the Yizhuang technology district brought together more than a hundred humanoid robot teams, along with about 12,000 human runners on an urban course of 21.0975 kilometers, in the second edition of an event conceived as a testing ground for this type of technologies. The course included different types of terrain, such as curves, descents, and narrow sections, designed to test the stability and adaptability of the robots in different conditions.
Performance leap
The improvement in times compared to 2025, when the Tiangong robot won with 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds, reflects the rapid advancement in capabilities such as speed, stability, or energy management in a race where the best records were already around 50 minutes. The human world record for a half marathon is 57 minutes and 20 seconds.
The event has combined autonomous navigation robots and others remotely guided, in a competition with a unified classification that weighs the results according to the degree of human intervention, with the aim of encouraging the development of solutions capable of operating without assistance. Among the participants were also international teams from institutions such as the Technical University of Munich (Germany) or Paris-Saclay University (France).
In parallel, the race has served as a showcase for new applications, such as a transit robot that debuted on the course giving directions to runners and which authorities plan to progressively incorporate for urban management tasks, according to state television CCTV. The race is part of Beijing's strategy to promote humanoid robotics as an industry, using real-world tests to accelerate its development and evaluate its possible application in areas such as industrial inspection, assistance, or urban services.
In the human category, China's Zhao Haijie won the men's race with a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds, while Wang Qiaoxia won the women's race with 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 6 seconds, according to organization data.