Chinese humanoid robots race alongside humans in half-marathon in Beijing
Humans raced against humanoid robots for the first time in a half-marathon in Beijing, China on Saturday, the 19th of April. Even though humanoid robots have made appearances in marathons across China over the past year, this was the first time they competed alongside humans.
Robots in various shapes and sizes, ranging from just under four feet (120 cm) to as tall as 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) took part in the race. As a precaution, a barrier that ran parallel to the human runners divided the race course for humans and machines.
While people contested in the half-marathon under conventional rules, the robots had tailored guidelines which included battery change pit stops. The organizers labelled the competition as being similar to a race car competition, owing to the need for engineering and acco...