humanoid robot competing against flesh-and-blood runners broke the world record at a Beijing half marathon on Sunday, showcasing the rapid technological advancement achieved by Chinese makers.
Spectators lined the roads in Yizhuang in the capital’s south to watch the machines and their human rivals race, each group in a separate lane to avoid accidents or collisions.
Some of the robots were highly agile, moving like famous runners such as Usain Bolt, while others had more basic capabilities.
The winning humanoid, equipped with an autonomous navigation system and running for Chinese smartphone maker Honor, completed the roughly 21-kilometre (13-mile) course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, at an average speed of about 25 kilometres per hour, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
That was far faster than the top human in Sunday’s race, while also surpassing the current men’s world record of 57:20 held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo.
The result represented spectacular progress from last year, when robot-runners fell repeatedly and the best took more than two hours and 40 minutes to finish.
The number of humanoid entries jumped from around 20 last year to more than 100, according to organisers, a sign of the sector’s growing popularity.
Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old student who watched the race from behind a safety barrier, barely had time to take out her phone and snap a picture of the leading robot as it whizzed past.
She told AFP she was enthusiastic about such leaps in technology and thought the event was “pretty cool”.
But, she added, “as someone who works for a living, I’m a little worried about it sometimes. I feel like technology is advancing so fast that it might start affecting people’s jobs”, particularly with artificial intelligence growing increasingly sophisticated.
Humanoid robots have become a common sight in China in recent years, in the media as well as in public spaces.
Xie Lei, 41, who watched Sunday’s race with his family, said robots could “become part of our daily lives” within several years, potentially used for “things like housework, elderly companionship or basic caregiving” or “dangerous jobs, even firefighting”.
The humanoid half marathon aims to encourage innovation and popularise the technologies used in creating and operating such machines.
In a sign of the industry’s strength, investment in robotics and so-called embodied AI amounted to 73.5 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) in China in 2025, according to a study by a government agency.
“For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet Earth. But now, look at robots. Just in terms of autonomous navigation, at least in this specific sport event, they’re already starting to surpass us,” Xie said.
“On one hand, it does make you feel a little bit sad for humanity. But at the same time, technology, especially in recent years, has given us so much imagination.”
While economically viable applications of humanoid robots mostly remain in a trial phase, the half-marathon’s showcasing of these machines’ physical prowess highlights their potential to reshape everything from dangerous jobs to battlefield combat.
However, Chinese robotics firms are still struggling to develop the AI software that would enable humanoids to match the efficiency of human factory workers.
Experts said the skills on display during the half-marathon, while entertaining, do not translate to the widespread commercialisation of humanoid robots in industrial settings, where manual dexterity, real-world perception and capabilities beyond small-scale, repetitive tasks are crucial.
China is seeking to become a global powerhouse in this frontier industry, and it has enacted a wide range of policies from subsidies to infrastructure projects to cultivate local firms.
The country’s most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, in February showcased China’s push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.
That included a lengthy martial arts demonstration where over a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fight sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in close proximity to human children performers.
