Humanoid robot wins half-marathon in China and beats human world record time
Topics: Technology, Artificial Intelligence, China, Sport
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images
Topics: Technology, Artificial Intelligence, China, Sport
Robots have taken a step forward after a humanoid won a half marathon in China this weekend.
Created by Chinese smartphone maker, Honor, the robot - named Lightning - completed the 13-mile race in just 50 minutes and 26 seconds, which is faster than the human record holder, Jacob Kiplimo, who completed a half marathon in March at the Lisbon race, in 57 minutes and 20 seconds.
After a robot finished the same race in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds last year, this weekend's triumph has been considered a huge improvement in technological advancements, considering how much faster Lightning managed to complete the race this time around.
People were pretty impressed by the feat, with Sun Zhigang, a spectator in the audience, telling ESPN: "I feel enormous changes this year.
Advert
"It's the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that's something I never imagined."
Meanwhile, Wang Wen added: "The robots' speed far exceeds that of humans.
"This may signal the arrival of sort of a new era."
Not only had the number of robots running in the race increased by more than five times, but several were faster this year than their human counterparts.
Lightning could be seen in bright red and standing at 169cm tall, and was using autonomous navigation to complete the race.
However, there were a few hiccups that took place, despite the success of the advancing technology.
One robot reportedly fell at the start of the race, while another collided with a barrier.
Not all of the humanoids were able to get around the track autonomously, with around 40 percent controlled remotely.
Captain of one of the winning Honor teams Ma Huaze, told NBC News: “I felt very nervous.
“The biggest challenge was having the courage to perform and test large-scale upgrades on a major competitive stage like this.”
Meanwhile, Zhao Haijie, who was the fastest human runner in the race, with a time of one hour, seven minutes and 47 seconds, said the robots were speeding past as they were completing the half marathon.
“I felt it was going quite fast,” Zhao said. “It just went whoosh right past me.”
The win comes after a rise in robots competing in sports events in China in the last year.
In 2025, Beijing hosted the world's first Humanoid Robot Games, including sports such as soccer, martial arts and boxing.