Chinese robots race to keep up with humans.

On the morning of April 19th, the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon officially opened at the Yizhuang High-Tech Park in Beijing. The event brought together 20 teams from technology companies, research institutes, clubs, and universities both inside and outside China.

The race takes place over a distance of 21 km, starting from Nanhaizi Park, passing through Baotong Avenue, Wenbo Bridge, Smart Lake Park, and ending at Beijing Information City.

Unlike conventional races, this event adopted a model where humans and robots competed together. Technicians followed the same route, but with separate lanes separating them. This was the first time in the world that humanoid robots had to adapt to an outdoor, real-world environment over long distances. These conditions presented significant challenges in terms of balance, navigation, and signal transmission.

According to the organizers' requirements, the robot had to be humanoid in shape and walk or run on two legs. It was not allowed to have wheels or any special locomotion mechanisms. The device could operate autonomously or be controlled remotely. The 21 km course of the competition included many complex curves and uphill and downhill terrain, posing a challenge for robots that were not adequately designed.

Technical support is set up along the left side of the track. Each team can add a maximum of three people to run alongside the robot. In addition, the organizers have arranged several supply stations along the race route, where the robots can be maintained and have their batteries replaced.

The Tiangong team is the champion of the world's first robot marathon with a time of 2 hours and 41 minutes. The device is 180 cm tall, weighs 52 kg, and has an average speed of 10 km/h.

Little Naughty Boy N2 (1.2 m tall, 30 kg) came in second. Despite its small size, it's optimally designed for running, mimicking human movement mechanics. This robot also recovers excess kinetic energy, adjusts its gait to suit the terrain, and maintains its center of gravity.

The race also saw some mishaps, such as loose screws on the machine, requiring adjustments. Midway through, the Tornado team's robot's feet wore down due to high friction on the track. The developers had to equip the device with specialized shoes.

This year's competition lacked Unitree, currently China's most popular humanoid robot startup. However, the Unitree G1 product still received user registrations, but did not achieve outstanding results. After the competition, company representatives responded to the press stating that they were unable to participate due to busy schedules. Furthermore, the low results did not fully reflect the potential of the G1 model because it was programmed and refined by users rather than the development team.