Unitree's H1 robot, a full-size, general-purpose humanoid robot, claimed the gold medal in the 400-meter race at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Friday.
The historic competition took place at the National Speed Skating Oval, an Olympic venue known as the "Ice Ribbon."
Sixty-four teams competed across 16 preliminary heats, with 16 advancing to the second round and four ultimately qualifying for the final. Among the finalists, three were developed by the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics.
Notably, all three robots from the center completed the race using fully autonomous navigation, without any remote human control. They maintained stable gaits, followed precise running paths, and avoided stepping on lane lines -- demonstrating highly sophisticated and robust control systems.
"This is extremely challenging. A humanoid robot has more than 30 joints, so it is necessary to precisely control all of them, while having it to remain at a certain speed. Throughout the race, the robot must not fall, must strictly run along the set lane, and avoid stepping on lane lines or cutting across lanes. The fact that it did so shows the control algorithm is highly stable," said Tang Jian, chief technology officer of the innovation center.
The gold medal was secured by Shanghai Gaoyi Technology Company, a subsidiary of Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, which deployed the H1 robot to complete the race in 1 minute and 28.03 seconds.
Robots from the Beijing Innovation Center -- Tianzhuo, Tianxiao, and Tianjiao -- finished second, third, and fourth, with times of 1:35.92, 1:40.92, and 1:58.65, respectively.
"Our H1 robot actually still has much greater potential to unlock. For the next competition, I think the most important thing is to maintain continuous technological progress every month and every year," said Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics.
The 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of robotics, displaying rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, dynamic locomotion, and autonomous decision-making.
Running from Thursday to Sunday, the Games has attracted 280 teams from 16 countries, including the United States, Germany and Italy. Competitors will take part in 26 events, spanning running, long jump, free exercises and football, and skills-based tasks like moving materials, sorting drugs and cleaning across different scenarios.
Unitree's H1 robot wins 400m race at inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games
