In a groundbreaking event held in Beijing’s southeastern Yizhuang district, more than 20 humanoid robots competed against 12,000 human participants in the world’s first humanoid half-marathon. This race, organized as part of China’s efforts to advance its robotics technology, showcased the capabilities and limitations of humanoid robots in a competitive environment.
The event took place as China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology identified the humanoid robotics industry as a “new frontier in technological competition.” The ministry has a pretty ambitious goal by 2025. Their goal is mass production and setting up protected supply chains for the essential elements that will go into humanoid robots. This project is a part of China’s efforts to become the global leader in robotics. This policy arena has traditionally been dominated by the United States.
Among the competitors was Tiangong Ultra, a robot created by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. It was able to complete the half-marathon in less than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Long legs Tiangong Ultra’s impressive movement is augmented with long capabilities legs. It further uses a highly advanced algorithm, allowing it to mimic human running mechanics almost perfectly. The robot only had to change batteries three times during the race, a testament to the robot’s endurance over the course of the competition.
The racecourse had been engineered to suit the needs of both robots and humans, with contestants competing in a human competitor’s lane that was physically gated off. If a company couldn’t go on for some reason, they could replace their robot throughout the competition with another of their robots. Every change would cost the team 10 minutes. As impressive as their skills were, the robots were far from human-level performance. The top human competitor completed the course in a mere 1 hr and 2 min.
Tang Jian, the elected chief technology officer for the robotics innovation center, said his team was proud of Tiangong Ultra’s success.
“I don’t want to boast but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong’s sporting achievements.” – Tang Jian
The humanoid half-marathon proved to be a thrilling race of attrition. It served to highlight China’s remarkable strides in humanoid technology. Their performance was documented and analyzed on an extensive level, granting deeper insight into the bots’ operational capabilities and potential growing pains. Tiangong Ultra took home the title of first robot to cross the finish line. Even despite this impressive success, the news highlighted the significant hurdles that still remain in developing humanoid robots that can truly compete against human athletes.
China is doing everything they can to close that gap with the U.S. Interestingly, the U.S. is trailblazing in the advancement of specific humanoid android models. Showcase events such as this half-marathon demonstrate China’s commitment to closing the divide. They are equally an important step to cement our nation’s status as a competitive power in the international robotics arena.
As the technology develops, these competitions could help establish baseline data for what’s possible in future innovations. This interaction between human and robotic competitors sparks speculation about the future of sports and technology. It gives us hope to imagine how these two worlds can not only coexist, but move forward together.
