Robot vs. Man: Half marathon in Beijing causes a stir!

Robot vs. Man: Half marathon in Beijing causes a stir!

Peking, China - On April 22, 2025, a remarkable half marathon took place in Beijing, China, where humanoid robots competed against human runners. This event was announced as the world's first half marathon with robots and caused a sensation. Over 10,000 human participants had registered to do their best on the 21,0975 kilometer route, which led through the Yizhuang district.

The robot "Tiangong" was the fastest of its kind and crossed the finish line after 2 hours, 40 minutes and 24 seconds. The fastest person, on the other hand, only needed 1 hour, 11 minutes and 7 seconds to achieve the goal. The second robot followed almost an hour later, which showed that the humanoid robots had no realistic chance of the overall victory despite the impressive performance of the "Tiangong".

competitive rules and technical challenges

A total of 20 companies and research institutions took part that had to develop robots that had at least two legs. During the race, engineers had the opportunity to make adjustments to the robots, which, however, led to time penalties. Some robots failed at the start and remained, as could be seen in a transmission of Chinese state television.

The event essentially had the function of a technical demonstration to test the suitability of humanoid robots. The focus was on challenges such as energetic efficiency, robust components and autonomous movement control. Experts said this competition checked the possible uses of humanoids and thus make a significant contribution to development.

Beijing as a hotspot for robotics and ki

The Chinese government has announced that it is particularly promoting the development of artificial intelligence and robotics this year. The overarching strategy aims to provide China's industry a technological lead in the field of humanoid robots. Analysts predict that the market for robots in the coming decades will be estimated to be hundreds of US dollars and that annual sales of up to 50 million pieces are possible by 2050 In addition to the half marathon, the Chinese government has also initiated other innovative projects, such as listing robots, showing folk dances to inspire the population. In Beijing, dog -like robots are already patrolling that are sensors equipped with high -precision. These developments could be interpreted as part of the technological rivalry between China and the USA.

Overall, the half marathon not only signals the progress in robotics, but also China's ambitions on the global technology market. [VOL.AT] (https://www.vol.at/kurios-roboter-traten-bei- halfmarathon-against-human/9352052) reports that the combination of humans and machines made a unique picture that day. According to Spiegel, this event shows the potential humanoid robot in practical use and the plans of the government, more To promote developments. [Heise] (https://www.heise.de/news/humanoid-versus-mensch-china- show-anopen-source-robot-platform-marathon-10356973.html) complements that the open source platform from "Tiangong" should accelerate the development of humanoid robots for various industrial applications.