Chinese Humanoid Robots Beat Human World Record in Half Marathon

Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots dominated a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, with the winning machine developed by smartphone brand Honor completing the 21-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, several minutes faster than the human world record of 57:31 set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month. The stark contrast to last year's inaugural event was evident, with participating teams increasing from 20 to more than 100, and nearly half of this year's entrants navigating the course autonomously using AI rather than remote control. Honor teams secured all three podium positions, with engineers explaining that the winning robot featured legs approximately 90-95 centimeters long designed to mimic elite human runners, along with liquid cooling technology adapted from smartphone manufacturing to prevent motors from overheating during intense physical exertion. Du Xiaodi, an Honor engineer on the winning team, stated that while the sector remains in a nascent phase, developing robots capable of athletic performance ultimately enables technology transfer to structural reliability and cooling systems that will support industrial applications. Spectators, including young engineering students, expressed amazement at the robots' capabilities, with many viewing the event as evidence of China's rapid advances in robotics. However, experts cautioned that while the physical skills demonstrated are impressive, they do not yet translate to widespread commercialization of humanoid robots in industrial settings, where manual dexterity, real-world perception and capabilities beyond repetitive tasks remain essential. China is actively pursuing global leadership in the sector through policies including subsidies and infrastructure projects, and earlier this year featured humanoid robots from domestic startups during the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala in martial arts performances alongside human performers.