Twenty-one bipedal robots took to the streets in China on Saturday to compete in the first humanoid half marathon of its kind, but technical glitches left them far behind.
A video posted by the BBC shows several robots greeting spectators before the start of the race, and stopping at various points along the track as athletes compete in streets decorated with cherry blossoms.
At one point, the race judge lifts a square silver robot that has fallen onto the pavement by the hand.
Organizers said the road race was an opportunity for China to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence technology in robots. Teams from Chinese companies and universities have teamed up to develop half-marathon humanoids as the country seeks to match the technological level of the United States, where experts say the most advanced and sophisticated robotics technology is being developed.
The tech robots were allowed to swap out their participants' batteries at different points along the course, similar to how human runners rehydrate.
The first humanoid participant, Tiangong Ultra, completed the 13-mile race in 2:40, nearly two hours faster than the world record of 56:42 set by Ugandan distance runner Jacob Kiplimo. The winner of the Beijing race completed the distance in 1 hour and 2 minutes.
“I don't mean to brag, but I don't think any other robotics company in the West has achieved the athletic performance that Tiangong has,” said Tang Jian, chief technology officer of the robotics information center, CNN reported.
He attributed the effectiveness of his company's 1.8-metre-tall humanoid racer to its long legs and an algorithm that allowed it to mimic the movements of humans running a marathon.
Some of the robots were controlled remotely, while others were kept on a leash. The humanoid participants competed on a separate track from the human participants, who easily kept up with them.
Sourse: www.upi.com
