Photos: Humanoid robots stumbled for a half-marathon in Beijing

More than 12,000 people and 21 humanoid robots met in Beijing on Saturday morning to participate in a half-marathon.

Yes, robots.

Machine fighting against 13 miles muscles during the Humanoid robot-robot-robot-marathon of Beijing E-Town and robot Humanoid, which, according to the organizers, was the first of its kind.

The participating robots ran into a separate path of humans and came to different designs.

Robotics Noetix has shown N2, a humanoid robot over 40 pounds about 3 feet high. Unitree Robotics has entered its G1 model, which weighs almost 80 pounds and measures more than 4 feet high. Another robot in the course of racing included a woman’s face. Engineers or human managers accompanied robots.

The People’s popular government of the Beijing municipality said on its website that robotic marathonists had undergone “intensive training”, including “endurance exercises at the end of the evening”, before the race.

At a March press conference, Li Quan, deputy chief of the Beijing economic-technological development area, said the robots had received about three and a half hours to complete the course.

He added that robots could win prizes in three categories: the completion of the race, the best endurance and the most popular robot.

Although the human-humanoid half-marathon is a feat, not all robots accessed on occasion. Images obtained by Reuters have shown that a robot falling on the starting line while another crashed into a balustrade and sent its human operator to the ground.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a robot entitled “Huanhuan” has sometimes run in the wrong direction before sitting on the ground and refusing to stand up.

A robot rose above the rest: Tien Kung Ultra, designed by the humanoid robot innovation center in Beijing, has become the first humanoid robot to cross the finish line in 2 hours and 40 minutes, the newspaper reported.

Li said he hoped that the event would be recognized as more than a fun show of the weekend.

“We hope that this event will not only present achievements in the humanoid robotics industry, but will also arouse discussions and will deepen public understanding of robots, which will help accelerate the development of industry,” he said in March.

Technological developments, such as AI, have enabled humanoid robots to evolve quickly in recent years. Some companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW have even joined forces with humanoid robots companies to test robots on factory lines, although very few of these robots have been deployed worldwide.

Some in the technology sector consider China as ahead of the United States in the humanoid robots race, pointing events like the Gala of the Spring Festival 2025 in Beijing, which presented 16 humanoid robots propelled by AI developed by Unitere, a Chinese company, dancing towards traditional folk music with a choreography developed humans.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose company manufactures its own humanoid robot, said one day that he thought that humanoids would go beyond humans by 2040.