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Independent Singapore
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Humans vs Humanoids: Robots compete with humans at Yizhuang half-marathon in China
Photo: The Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing was a blend of technology and athletics as 21 humanoid robots joined thousands of human runners on the 21km course. These robots, created by Chinese companies like DroidVP and Noetix Robotics, have sizes from just under 1.2m to 1.8m tall. One of the companies presented a robot that looked like a human, complete with feminine features, and had the ability to wink and smile. There were also robots dressed for the race, with a few wearing running shoes to further enhance their performance. Moreover, one robot stood out with boxing gloves, and another sported a red headband emblazoned with the words 'Bound to Win' in Chinese. Some of the robots underwent weeks of testing to prepare for the race. These robots were not only accompanied by human trainers but also required physical support from them during the event. Spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence, shared, 'The robots are running very well, very stable … I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI.' The winning robot, Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, completed the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes. On the other hand, the men's race winner finished in 1 hour and 2 minutes. Tang Jian, the chief technology officer of the robotics centre, explained that Tiangong Ultra's performance was helped by its long legs and an algorithm that mimics how humans run a marathon. 'I don't want to boast, but no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements,' he said. He also added that the robot's batteries were replaced three times during the race. This is the first time humanoid robots have raced alongside humans, even though they have appeared in marathons over the past years. China is investing heavily in emerging industries like robotics, hoping they will fuel new economic growth. BBC News shared the story in a social media post, and netizens had mixed reactions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BBC News (@bbcnews) As one commenter put it, 'They'd have a lot more success if we didn't keep this ridiculous notion that robots have to look like people. Give it four legs…and suddenly it's more stable and has more weight capacity for computers and batteries.' Another netizen remarked: 'It's good to see a diversity of robot forms, sizes, and capabilities as it shows multiple streams of R&D. While some are primitive today, they are at the disruptive innovation stage; based on the progress shown here, they will clearly cross the chasm into being ready for many everyday use cases within three to five years; it's going to be interesting times as we adapt to the new economics of non-human but humanoid workers.' While some found it impressive, other commenters shared a more serious take.'In a few years, this ain't funny anymore,' one person wrote Another added, 'I thought robots were meant to help us (like in extreme situations where humans need rescue, etc), not compete against us in silly races and generate AI art…. what a waste' One more user had strong words saying, 'The reason why we shouldn't have these people creating these 🤭….. They can't even get human life right. Sickening how people want robots to control everything.'
Gulf Today
19-04-2025
- Gulf Today
21 robots join thousands of real human beings in Chinese half-marathon
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21-km (13-mile) course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120 cm (3.9 ft), others as tall as 1.8 m (5.9 ft). One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more akin to a race car competition, given the need for engineering and navigation teams. A robot attends the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon held in Beijing on Saturday. Associated Press "The robots are running very well, very stable ... I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,' said spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence. The robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the race. Wearing running shoes A few of the robots wore running shoes, with one donning boxing gloves and another wearing a red headband with the words "Bound to Win" in Chinese. The winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Innovation Center of Human Robotics, with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The men's winner of the race had a time of 1 hour and 2 minutes. A robot from DroidUp walks to the award ceremony after winning the second runner-up position. Associated Press The centre is 43% owned by two state-owned enterprises, while tech giant Xiaomi's robotics arm and leading Chinese humanoid robot firm UBTech have equal share in the rest. Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the robotics centre, said Tiangong Ultra's performance was aided by long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon. "I don't want to boast but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements," Tang said, adding that the robot switched batteries just three times during the race. Some robots struggle Some robots, like Tiangong Ultra, completed the race, while others struggled from the beginning. One robot fell at the starting line and lay flat for a few minutes before getting up and taking off. One crashed into a railing after running a few metres, causing its human operator to fall over. Attendees react during an award ceremony for the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon. Associated Press Although humanoid robots have made appearances at marathons in China over the past year, this is the first time they have raced alongside humans. China is hoping that investment in frontier industries like robotics can help create new engines of economic growth. Some analysts, though, question whether having robots enter marathons is a reliable indicator of their industrial potential. Alan Fern, professor of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at Oregon State University, said contrary to claims from Beijing officials that such a race requires "AI breakthroughs", the software enabling humanoid robots to run was developed and demonstrated more than five years ago. A child interacts with a humanoid robot Noetix N2 after it finished the race at second place. Reuters Four legged robots perform before the award ceremony for the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon held in Beijing on Saturday. Associated Press "Chinese companies have really focused on showing off walking, running, dancing, and other feats of agility. "Generally, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don't demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence," Fern said. Tang, the robotic centre's CTO, said: "A focus going forward for us will be industrial applications for humanoid robots so they can truly enter factories, business scenarios, and finally households." Reuters
The Guardian
19-04-2025
- The Guardian
China pits humanoid robots against humans in half-marathon for first time
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21-kilometre (13-mile) course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120cm (3ft 9in), others as tall as 1.8m (5ft 9in). One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more akin to a race car competition, given the need for engineering and navigation teams. 'The robots are running very well, very stable … I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,' said spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence. The robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the race. A few of the robots wore running shoes, with one donning boxing gloves and another wearing a red headband with the words 'Bound to Win' in Chinese. The winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, with a time of 2hr 40min. The men's winner of the race had a time of 1hr 2min. The centre is 43% owned by two state-owned enterprises, while tech giant Xiaomi's robotics arm and leading Chinese humanoid robot firm UBTech have equal share in the rest. Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the robotics centre, said Tiangong Ultra's performance was aided by long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon. 'I don't want to boast but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements,' Tang said, adding that the robot switched batteries just three times during the race. Some robots, like Tiangong Ultra, completed the race, while others struggled from the beginning. One robot fell at the starting line and lay flat for a few minutes before getting up and taking off. One crashed into a railing after running a few metres, causing its human operator to fall over. Although humanoid robots have made appearances at marathons in China over the past year, this is the first time they have raced alongside humans. China is hoping that investment in frontier industries like robotics can help create new engines of economic growth. Some analysts, though, question whether having robots enter marathons is a reliable indicator of their industrial potential.
Al Etihad
19-04-2025
- Al Etihad
China pits humanoid robots against humans in half-marathon
19 Apr 2025 12:07 BEIJING (Reuters)Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21-km robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120 cm, others as tall as 1.8 m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more akin to a race car competition, given the need for engineering and navigation teams."The robots are running very well, very stable ... I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,' said spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the race.A few of the robots wore running shoes, with one donning boxing gloves and another wearing a red headband with the words "Bound to Win" in winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, from the Beijing Innovation Center of Human Robotics, with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The men's winner of the race had a time of 1 hour and 2 centre is 43% owned by two state-owned enterprises, while tech giant Xiaomi's robotics arm and leading Chinese humanoid robot firm UBTech have equal share in the Jian, chief technology officer for the robotics centre, said Tiangong Ultra's performance was aided by long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon. "I don't want to boast but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements," Tang said, adding that the robot switched batteries just three times during the race.
The Independent
19-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Robots race against humans for first time in Chinese half-marathon
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time machines have raced alongside humans over a 21-km (13-mile) course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120 cm (3.9 ft), others as tall as 1.8 m (5.9 ft). One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more akin to a race car competition, given the need for engineering and navigation teams. "The robots are running very well, very stable ... I feel I'm witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,' spectator He Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence. The robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the race. A few of the robots wore running shoes, with one donning boxing gloves and another wearing a red headband with the words "Bound to Win" in Chinese. Some robots completed the race, while others struggled from the beginning. One robot fell at the starting line and lay flat for a few minutes before getting up and taking off. One crashed into a railing after running a few metres, causing its human operator to fall over. Although humanoid robots have made appearances at marathons in China over the past year, this is the first time they have raced alongside humans. China is hoping that investment in frontier industries like robotics can help create new engines of economic growth. Some analysts, though, question whether having robots enter marathons is a reliable indicator of their industrial potential. Alan Fern, professor of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at Oregon State University, said contrary to claims from Beijing officials that such a race requires "AI breakthroughs", the software enabling humanoid robots to run was developed and demonstrated more than five years ago. "(The robot half-marathon) is more of a hardware endurance demonstration," he said. "Chinese companies have really focused on showing off walking, running, dancing, and other feats of agility. "Generally, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don't demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence," Fern said.
