Robots vs. Humans: Half-Marathon Fails & Triumphs in China

What just taken place? It shows up that a person point humanoid robotics still can’t do much better than their human counterparts is long-distance running. This reality was shown during a half-marathon in Beijing, China, over the weekend break, when most of the completing robots fell over, crumbled, or stopped working to finsih.

Humanoid Robots Struggle with Long-Distance Running

It appears that one thing humanoid robots still can not do much better than their human equivalents is long-distance running. Bloomberg reports that one of the robots dropped at the beginning line. Maybe the most telling figure is that out of the 21 robotics that took component in the race, only 4 took care of to complete the complete 13 miles. The fastest robot, a five-foot-ten-inch device called Tiangong Ultra, went across the coating line in two hours and 40 minutes, while the three various other robots that finished took more than 3 hours.

Tiangong Ultra’s Half-Marathon Performance

Regardless of being the fastest amongst the robot runners, Tiangong Ultra still fell when and required 3 battery modifications throughout the race. The robot was developed specifically for the occasion by X-Humanoid, a government-backed study institute that also has funding from Xiaomi’s robotics arm and UBTech Robotics.

KAIST’s RAIBO2: A Quadrupedal Marathon Success

In November 2024, a robot developed by the South Oriental Advanced Institute of Scientific Research and Modern Technology (KAIST) ended up being the initial quadrupedal robot to finish a complete marathon. Birthing a solid resemblance to Boston Dynamics’ Place, RAIBO2 ended up the 26.2-mile run in four hours, 19 minutes, and 52 seconds.

Tiangong had a human teacher wearing a signaling tool on his lower back running ahead of it so the robotic could simulate his relocations. Other robotics were controlled with joysticks by operators who ran alongside them, and some had chains.

China’s Robotics Showcase: A Mixed Bag

China had actually placed the event as a means of showing off its improvements in the area of robotics, but it had not been exactly a resounding success because department. Bloomberg reports that one of the robots fell at the beginning line. Another’s head fell off and rolled around on the flooring. And one broke and broke down into items.

The robots differed wildly in appearance. The quickest, the 30-inch Little Titan, was created to run just three miles as it’s too slow-moving. One had a distressing women mannequin-like head that might wink and grin, while one more had a Gundam-style design– they both collapsed and failed to finish the race.

“I’m really pleased with the outcomes, and everything met my expectations,” said Flavor Jian, X-Humanoid’s Chief Modern technology Officer. “This has been an extreme test of the robotics’ strength and security. Our hope is that, whatever tasks robots do in the future, they will be capable of running all the time, 24/7.”

The globe’s initial human beings vs. robotic half-marathon in China saw 21 humanoid equipments running along with their drivers in the 13-mile race, in which more than 12,000 people participated– the robots and human rivals ran in different lanes.

Human vs. Robot: The Speed Disparity

Possibly one of the most telling figure is that out of the 21 robotics that took part in the race, only 4 handled to finish the complete 13 miles. The fastest robotic, a five-foot-ten-inch equipment called Tiangong Ultra, went across the goal in 2 hours and 40 mins, while the 3 other crawlers that completed took greater than 3 hours. For contrast, the human victor finished the race in one hour, 2 minutes, and 36 seconds.