Bipedal robots ran 13.1 miles alongside human runners at a half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday. A divider seperated the two on parallel courses, but it was not apparently necessary. The day went well for meat and machine athletes, though many did not make it to the finish line.
While flesh-and-blood participants followed conventional rules, the 20 teams fielding machines in the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon competed under tailored guidelines, which included battery swap pit stops.
The Sky Project Ultra robot, also known as Tien Kung Ultra, from the Tien Kung Team, claimed victory among the nonhumans, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.
Awards were also given out for best endurance, best gait design and most innovative form.
We've come a long way in the last two decades. A proposal: human runners should also receive awards for best gait. Here's some footage (embedded below) which reports that Tiangong Ultra won the robot race in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Previously:
• Watch a bipedal robot break the world record for the 100-meter dash
• Bipedal robot combines multiple sci-fi franchises
• This bipedal robot is a flying drone with legs
• Bipedal robot drummer already better at it than most humans
