A humanoid robot sprints to victory in Beijing, beating the human half-marathon world record
Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots demonstrated rapid gains in athletic performance and autonomous navigation during a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday, highlighting fast progress in the sector.
Last year’s debut event was marked by failures, with most robots unable to finish. The winning robot then took 2 hours 40 minutes, more than twice the human winner’s time. This year, entries rose from 20 teams to over 100, and several leading robots finished more than 10 minutes ahead of the human winners.
Nearly half of the robots ran autonomously on the tougher terrain rather than being remotely controlled. Around 12,000 human runners competed on parallel tracks to avoid collisions.
The winning robot, developed by smartphone maker Honor, finished in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, several minutes faster than the half-marathon world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month. Honor teams took all three podium positions, with all robots self-navigating and setting record times. Engineer Du Xiaodi said the robot took a year to develop, using 90 to 95 cm legs designed to mimic elite runners and liquid cooling technology adapted from smartphones.
Du said humanoids are still in an early stage but are expected to influence industries including manufacturing. He added that improvements in running speed help transfer technology into structural reliability, cooling systems, and industrial applications.
Spectators saw the range of designs as evidence of China’s robotics progress. While most commercial uses remain in testing, the event pointed to potential applications in hazardous work and combat.
Experts said current capabilities do not yet scale to industrial use, where dexterity, perception, and non-repetitive tasks are required. China continues to invest heavily in the sector through subsidies and infrastructure support.
The technology also appeared at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, where Unitree humanoids performed martial arts routines with weapons alongside human child performers.
