Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang Half Marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have run alongside humans over the 21 km distance, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
Robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidUP and Noetix Robotics came in various shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120 cm, others as tall as 1.8 m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with female facial features and the ability to wink and smile.
Some firms had been testing their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials described the event as more of a racing competition given the need for engineering and navigation teams.
"Robots run very well, very stably... I feel like I'm observing the evolution of robots and AI," said spectator He Xishu, who works in artificial intelligence.
The robots were accompanied by human coaches, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the race.
Several robots were wearing running shoes, one had boxing gloves "on", and another was "wearing" a red headband with the words "Bound to Win" in Chinese.
The winner was the Tiangong Ultra robot from the Beijing Innovation Center for Robotics with a result of 2 hours 40 minutes. The winner of the men's race finished in 1 hour 2 minutes.
Tang Jian, chief technology officer at the robotics center, said Tiangong Ultra's performance was due to its long legs and an algorithm allowing it to mimic how humans run a marathon.
"I don't want to boast, but I don't think any other robotics firm in the West has been able to match Tiangong's athletic performance," Tang said, adding that the robot only changed batteries three times during the race.
Addendum
Some robots, such as Tiangong Ultra, completed the race, while others struggled from the start. One robot fell at the starting line and lay there for several minutes before getting up and taking off. One crashed into a railing after running a few meters, causing its human operator to fall.
Although humanoid robots have appeared in marathons in China over the past year, this is the first time they have run alongside humans.
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China hopes that investment in advanced industries such as robotics will help create new engines of economic growth. However, some analysts doubt that robot participation in marathons is a reliable indicator of their industrial potential.
Alan Fern, a professor of computer science, artificial intelligence, and robotics at Oregon State University, stated that contrary to Beijing officials' claims that such a race requires "breakthroughs in artificial intelligence," the software that allows humanoid robots to run was developed and demonstrated more than five years ago.
"Chinese companies have really focused on demonstrating walking, running, dancing, and other feats of agility. Overall, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don't demonstrate much regarding the usefulness of helpful work or any type of foundational intelligence," Fern said.
Tang, the CTO of the robotics center, said: "Moving forward, we will focus on industrial applications of humanoid robots so that they can truly enter factories, business scenarios, and finally, households."