The highlight, created by Honor, completed the 21-kilometre race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, as reported in a WeChat update by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also referred to as Beijing E-Town, where the event commenced. This time surpassed the existing human world record held by Jacob Kiplimo, who finished a Lisbon road race in approximately 57 minutes back in March.
This performance represented a remarkable leap from last year’s inaugural event, where the top robot took 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds to cross the finish line. This year saw a significant increase in participation, with over 100 teams competing, up from 20 in the previous iteration. Several leading robots outdistanced professional human runners by more than 10 minutes.
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The race featured separate tracks for robots and roughly 12,000 human participants, highlighting advancements in autonomy. According to Beijing E-Town, around 40% of the robots were able to navigate the course on their own, while others were controlled remotely. Despite these advancements, the event had its share of issues, with one robot stumbling at the start and another crashing into a barrier.
State media outlet Global Times noted that a different remotely operated robot from Honor finished first, clocking in at 48 minutes and 19 seconds. However, the autonomous robot was officially recognized as the winner according to the event’s scoring criteria. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the second- and third-place finishers, also from Honor and navigating autonomously, completed the race in approximately 51 and 53 minutes, respectively.
The event also highlighted broader progress in China’s robotics industry. A recent review by Omdia identified AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech Robotics Corp. as top-tier global suppliers of general-purpose embodied intelligent robots based on shipment figures, with each delivering over 1,000 units last year.
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