A humanoid robot was declared champion in the half-marathon race held in Beijing, China on Sunday, beating human participants and breaking the world record.
The prize was awarded to the autonomously navigated robot Shandian after the remote-controlled robot, Lightning, which technically placed first, was denied the prize under the event’s weighted scoring rules.
major robotic improvements
Shandian completed the 21-kilometre (about 13 mi) course in Beijing’s Yizhuang district in a time of 50:26, while Lightning achieved a time of 48:19.
Both times were faster than the human record for the distance set by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who clocked 57:20 at the Lisbon Half Marathon in March.
At the opening ceremony in Beijing last year, the fastest robot took more than 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the finishing line.
For the race, thousands of human contenders joined robots from 100 companies and research institutes, with barriers separating the robots’ running tracks from those of humans.
China is at the forefront in robotic development
The course included more than 10 types of terrain, including flat roads, slopes, turns and narrow sections, to test the robot’s capabilities.
State broadcaster CCTV said a robot also acted as a traffic officer, directing participants with hand gestures and voice.
Not all robots managed to cope, one fell at the starting line and another collided with an obstacle.
Beijing E-Town said about 40% of the robots navigated the course autonomously, while the others were controlled remotely.
China is trying to become a global leader in the robotics industry and has launched subsidies and infrastructure projects to boost local companies.
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah