Humanoid robots complete full-process, all-element road test for half-marathon in Beijing

Humanoid robots that will take part in the 2026 Beijing E‑Town Half Marathon, also known as the Humanoid Robot Half‑Marathon, have completed a full-process and all-element road test from Saturday night to early Sunday morning.

The test fully simulated core scenarios such as marathon course, process coordination, and emergency support, making preparations for the official run.

Co‑hosted by the Beijing Municipal People's Government and China Media Group (CMG), the official event will kick off on April 19.

The humanoid robot half-marathon will feature an autonomous navigation group and a remote control group, with autonomous navigation teams accounting for nearly 40 percent. Compared with last year, the number of teams in this year's event exceeded 100, an increase of nearly five times.

More than 70 teams participated in the test event, including four international teams. The autonomous navigation group and the remote control group conducted night testing activities simultaneously on the same field.

"Last year, just being able to finish the race was already considered impressive. But this year, it really reflects an overall improvement across the entire industry," said Chu Yang, marketing manager of Chinese robot maker Unitree Robotics.

The main purpose of the full-process and full-element test is to conduct technical verification, process coordination, and risk prevention and control. During the testing process, the short-distance speed of the robots has significantly improved, and some teams predict that their half-marathon results are expected to approach the level of elite human runners.

"This test also exposed many problems, such as robot malfunctions, blocking issues, and some safety guarantee issues on the course. These related issues will be quickly addressed and improved during the qualifying tournament, and we will strive to present the best possible performance in the official race," said Liang Liang, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Electronics.

Humanoid robots complete full-process, all-element road test for half-marathon in Beijing

Humanoid robots complete full-process, all-element road test for half-marathon in Beijing

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to protest against the government saying that it used the sense of emergency over the past six weeks after the U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran to move forward with its own bitterly-contested internal agenda.

Some of the restrictions for the demonstration were lifted earlier in the week after a ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran.

"This is a terrible government, for the last three years working against its citizens all the time. We are protesting against the judicial reform that the government is imposing, anti-democratic moves, not to recruiting the orthodox people to the military," said Benny, a protester.

The resumption of the long-running corruption trial involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the debate over a controversial draft law, the even more controversial judiciary overhaul, none of them has gone anywhere.

With no imminent danger of missiles from Iran, at least for the short term, demonstrators here feel it is time to raise their voices.

"Everything has been turned so politically that instead of the country binding together, we just separate more and more. Plus in the background, the Netanyahu government is passing all sorts of non-democratic laws that only make the situation work," said Nancy, another protester.

The war may have taken a pause when it comes to central Israel but restrictions still apply.

Gatherings are allowed for up to 1,000 people although the police were told not to disperse the crowd even if numbers are bigger.

"I am not looking here to fight with the police. I hope they are not looking to fight with us and I believe that it will be a peaceful event," said Benny.

Israelis protest against gov't in Tel Aviv