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Humanoid robots race past humans in Beijing half-marathon, showing rapid advances
About 40% of the robots ran autonomously, and Honor’s winning model finished in 50:26 under weighted scoring, officials said.
- On Sunday, April 19, 2026, Honor's humanoid robot Shandian won the Beijing E-Town humanoid robot half-marathon by completing the 21-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
- Participation surged to more than 100 teams this year, marking significant progress from the 2025 inaugural race where winning robots took over 2 hours to finish the course.
- Although Honor's remotely controlled Lightning model crossed the finish line first in 48 minutes and 19 seconds, it was denied the championship under weighted scoring rules favoring autonomous navigation.
- Beating the human half-marathon world record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, the winning robot's performance demonstrated robotic capability surpassing elite athletes, though some competitors required assistance after crashing.
- China invested 73.5 billion yuan in robotics and embodied AI in 2025, positioning humanoids for eventual deployment in housework, elderly companionship, and dangerous industrial roles.
198 Articles
198 Articles
A half-marathon race in Beijing has attracted attention after humanoid robots were seen finishing the race alongside humans for the first time. According to organizers, a robot named “Lightning” achieved a faster time than the human record held by Jacob Kiplimo, sparking a debate about developments in technology. The races were held in separate lanes to avoid collisions between the robots and the approximately 12,000 human participants. - YouTub…
The Independent
The Independent (US)Robot breaks half-marathon record beating human world record
This is the moment a humanoid robot won a half-marathon in Beijing, finishing ahead of human runners and cutting the previous robot record of 2 hours and 40 minutes to just 50 minutes and 26 seconds. The winning robot, Lightning, was developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor and crossed the finish line on Sunday (19 April), faster than the human world record of 57 minutes and 20 seconds held by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo since March. More than 100…
Dozens of Chinese humanoid robots showed off their athletic prowess in Beijing on Sunday, zipping past runners in a half marathon. Just a year ago, they were still lagging far behind humans, but this year they have made impressive progress.
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