China holds first half-marathon between robots and humans

On April 19, at the Yizhuang Half Marathon in Beijing (China), 21 humanoid robots joined thousands of athletes, marking the first time these machines competed alongside humans on the 21km long track, although they had participated before, but never actually competed.

The robots participating in the competition are between 75-180cm tall and can weigh up to 88kg. (Source: Chinadaily)

These robots come from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics, ranging in height from 75-180cm and weighing up to 88kg, including robots that look almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile.

Some robots run fully autonomously, others are remotely controlled by engineers, and they run in separate lanes.

The event, held at the E-Town hi-tech park, is seen as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions, furthering China's efforts in the race to lead the global advanced technology.

According to engineers, the event is a big boost for the entire robotics industry with the main goal being to test the performance and reliability of robots and completing the race is more important than finishing first.

Noetix Robotics engineer Cui Wenhao said the 21km run was a serious test for the battery, motor, structure and even the algorithm.

DroidUp engineer Kong Yichang believes the race will lay the groundwork for a range of future work with humanoid robots.

However, on the other hand, some experts are skeptical about the significance of bringing robots into marathon running.

According to Professor Alan Fern, specializing in Computer Science , Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Oregon State University (USA), the software that allows the humanoid robot to run has been developed and demonstrated for more than 5 years and the robot's half-marathon race is more like a display of hardware endurance. Overall, these are just interesting performances and do not demonstrate usefulness in work or basic intelligence./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/trung-quoc-to-chuc-cuoc-dua-ban-marathon-dau-tien-giua-robot-va-con-nguoi-246288.htm