Humanoid robot beats human half-marathon world record in Beijing

In short: A humanoid robot in Beijing ran a half marathon faster than the human world record.

What happened

A half-marathon event in Beijing on April 19 included both human runners and humanoid robots, which are robots shaped roughly like people. The robots ran on a parallel track next to about 12,000 human participants.

The fastest robot, built by a team from Chinese smartphone maker Honor, finished the 13-mile (21-kilometer) course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to reports cited by Ars Technica. That is faster than the human half-marathon world record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, recently set by runner Jacob Kiplimo.

Honor team members said the robot copied some ideas from human athletes, including longer legs. They also described a custom liquid-cooling system to help the robot keep running without overheating (like a car radiator, but inside a robot).

The results also show how quickly robot runners are improving. At a similar event last year, the fastest robot reportedly finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Why it matters

This does not mean robots are ready to replace people in everyday jobs. Running a known race route is simpler than dealing with messy, unpredictable places like busy sidewalks, warehouses, or homes. Still, it is a clear sign that companies are getting better at building robots that can move for a long time without stopping, which is one of the basic skills needed before robots can do useful physical work.

Source: Arstechnica