An autonomous robot runner has set a new benchmark at the Beijing humanoid robot half-marathon, completing the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This time significantly outpaces the human world record of 57 minutes, recently established by Jacob Kiplimo.
The winning performance marks a substantial improvement over last year's event, where the fastest robot finished in two hours and 40 minutes, underscoring the rapid advancements in robotics technology.
The champion robot was developed by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor. While another Honor-built robot, which was remote-controlled, recorded a faster time of 48 minutes and 19 seconds, the autonomous 50:26 robot was awarded victory due to a weighted scoring system.
According to Beijing's E-Town tech hub, roughly 40% of the participating robots competed autonomously, with the remaining 60% being remote-controlled. The competition also saw some challenges, including one robot falling at the starting line and another hitting a barrier.