Beijing: China has taken a significant step in robotics testing by sending humanoid robots to compete in a half-marathon in the Yizhuang District, Beijing. The event, held on Sunday, marked the second occurrence of this unique competition, which serves as a crucial testing ground for the robots' algorithms, hardware, and processing systems before they transition into manufacturing, deployment, and delivery phases.

According to Thai News Agency, this year's race saw participation from over 300 robots, with more than 40 percent utilizing autonomous movement systems rather than direct remote control. To prevent collisions, the robots ran on paths parallel to the human competitors. A red robot developed by smartphone manufacturer Honor emerged as the fastest, finishing the 21-kilometer race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This time outpaced all 12,000 human runners and was nearly 7 minutes quicker than the recent world half-marathon record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo. Honor robots also secured the second and third places.

The performance of robots in this year's race showed a marked improvement over last year's, where the best finishing time was 2 hours and 40 minutes, and many robots did not complete the race. The current results indicate significant advancements in Chinese robotics, with the races being faster and more stable, and robots needing less human intervention.

Du Xiaodi, an engineer at Honor Terminal Co., Ltd., mentioned that they have implemented liquid cooling technology from Honor smartphones into the robots, expressing confidence that humanoid robots will eventually transform several industries, including manufacturing. Liang Hongjun, deputy director of the Equipment Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, remarked that the commercialization and mass production of humanoid robots are nearing reality.