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BEIJING - A humanoid robot stunned spectators in Beijing on Saturday after completing a half marathon at a pace rivaling elite human runners, marking a major leap in robotics performance.
The robot, named Lightning, finished far faster than machines in last year’s race, where one took nearly three hours to complete the course.
This year’s event showed rapid progress, with more robots competing and some even outpacing human runners.
“We were able to win mainly because of its very powerful motor, which we self-developed, and its heat dissipation technology,” said robotics engineer Zhang Chong, who was one of the engineers behind Lightning's development.
Officials say competitions like this are helping drive the industry forward.
“We have made collaboration in this industry closer through competitions,” said Liang Hongjun of Beijing’s municipal technology bureau, adding that increased cooperation between manufacturers, software developers and researchers is accelerating innovation and improving results.
Researchers also pointed to major technical gains.
“The stability and speed… are very special compared to the previous year; it is almost equal to human speed,” said Zhao Mingguo of Tsinghua University, noting that most of the robot’s components were developed domestically.
Despite the milestone, the race was not without issues.
Some robots struggled at the start, while others were not fully autonomous.
Still, the achievement left a strong impression, with the robot’s speed and performance underscoring what many see as the beginning of a new era in competitive robotics.
The robot, named Lightning, finished far faster than machines in last year’s race, where one took nearly three hours to complete the course.
This year’s event showed rapid progress, with more robots competing and some even outpacing human runners.
“We were able to win mainly because of its very powerful motor, which we self-developed, and its heat dissipation technology,” said robotics engineer Zhang Chong, who was one of the engineers behind Lightning's development.
Officials say competitions like this are helping drive the industry forward.
“We have made collaboration in this industry closer through competitions,” said Liang Hongjun of Beijing’s municipal technology bureau, adding that increased cooperation between manufacturers, software developers and researchers is accelerating innovation and improving results.
Researchers also pointed to major technical gains.
“The stability and speed… are very special compared to the previous year; it is almost equal to human speed,” said Zhao Mingguo of Tsinghua University, noting that most of the robot’s components were developed domestically.
Despite the milestone, the race was not without issues.
Some robots struggled at the start, while others were not fully autonomous.
Still, the achievement left a strong impression, with the robot’s speed and performance underscoring what many see as the beginning of a new era in competitive robotics.
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