Some of the humanoid robots that will take part in a half-marathon race in Beijing scheduled for later this month have completed their first road test.
The race, set for April 13 in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in the capital city's southeast, will feature both robotic and human athletes competing on the same route but on separate tracks to ensure safety for all participants.
The competition is open to global robot companies, research institutes, robot clubs and universities. So far, 23 organizations have signed up for the competition, and six robot teams have participated in the road test held at midnight on March 28-29.
After all-round inspections and adjustments, a 1.8-meter-tall robot named Tiangong Ultra from the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robots set off first. The robot finished the race by around two hours and 52 minutes.
The robot departed afterwards is a 1.2-meter-tall humanoid from the Noetix Robotics, a company founded in Beijing in 2023. The main features of the robot are the advanced joint design and drive system, which has highly flexible movement capabilities and can achieve rapid movements, make turnings and complete complex movements, according to its developers at the site.
To complete the 21-kilometer half marathon, each robot has to undergo several battery replacement operations along the way, which took about five minutes each time. Each team showed different technical features and tested different contents. A team from Shanghai mainly focused on the adaptability of the robot's sole to the road surface. "We must work to improve its uphill and downhill capabilities, its endurance, its operating stability, and some algorithm strategies to a higher level," said Bi Bei, head of the structural development of the Shanghai-based Cyan Robotics.
Humanoid robots complete first road test for half-marathon in Beijing
