In one small step for robot-kind, almost two dozen humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital on Saturday.
The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 21.1-kilometre (13.1-mile) course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organisers say was a first.
As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people.
But some of the robots struggled in the beginning. Media reported that one fell at the starting line and lay on the floor for a few minutes before getting up and taking off again.
Another robot crashed into a railing, causing its human operator to also fall over.
The robots were all different shapes and sizes.
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.
The average half-marathon time for an average human is typically around 2 to 2.5 hours. But the humanoid robots were far behind professional runners. The half-marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda with a time of 56.42, who set it this February.
Awards were also given out for best endurance, best gait design and most innovative form.
