BEIJING, April 20 – The city of Beijing hosted a half marathon Saturday featuring humanoid robots together with amateur runners, describing the event as the first of its kind in the world.
The event came as the Chinese government promotes the development of robots and artificial intelligence amid an intensifying technological rivalry with the United States.
In the half marathon, which covers just over 21 kilometers, separate courses with slopes and curves were prepared for robot and human runners. The robots were required to be bipedal, operate autonomously or by remote control and finish within approximately three and a half hours.
Twenty teams took part in the event, where they were allowed to change batteries and use multiple robots to complete the race as a relay.
The height and weight of the robots varied, with the tallest standing at 180 centimeters and the smallest at 75 cm. Wearing bibs with their race numbers, the robots departed from a Beijing park at one-minute intervals.
Technical issues hampered some teams at the start. A robot developed by a Beijing startup, capable of running at up to 12 km per hour, won the race with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.
