The people have been left far behind as smartphone maker Honor’s humanoid robot shattered the lads’s world record in China.
Published On 19 Apr 2026
A humanoid robot competing towards flesh-and-blood runners has damaged the world record at a Beijing half-marathon, showcasing the speedy technological developments achieved by Chinese makers.
Spectators lined the roads in Yizhuang in the capital’s south on Sunday to observe the machines and their human rivals race, every group in a separate lane to keep away from accidents or collisions.
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Some of the robots have been extremely agile, transferring like well-known runners comparable to Usain Bolt, whereas others had extra primary capabilities.
The profitable humanoid, outfitted with an autonomous navigation system and working for Chinese smartphone maker Honor, accomplished the roughly 21km (13-mile) course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, at a median velocity of about 25km/h (15.5mph), in accordance with state broadcaster CCTV.
That was far quicker than the highest human in Sunday’s race, whereas additionally surpassing the present males’s world record of 57:20, held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo.
The consequence represented spectacular progress from final yr, when robot-runners fell repeatedly, and one of the best took greater than two hours and 40 minutes to complete.
The variety of humanoid entries jumped from about 20 final yr to greater than 100, in accordance with organisers, an indication of the sector’s rising reputation.
‘Pretty cool’
Han Chenyu, a 25-year-old scholar who watched the race from behind a security barrier, barely had time to take out her cellphone and snap an image of the main robot because it whizzed previous.
She advised the AFP information company she was obsessed with such leaps in know-how and thought the occasion was “pretty cool”.
But, she added, “as someone who works for a living, I’m a little worried about it sometimes. I feel like technology is advancing so fast that it might start affecting people’s jobs”, significantly with synthetic intelligence (AI) rising more and more subtle.
Humanoid robots have turn into a standard sight in China in current years, in the media in addition to in public areas.
Xie Lei, 41, who watched Sunday’s race together with his household, mentioned robots may “become part of our daily lives” inside a number of years, doubtlessly used for “things like housework, elderly companionship or basic caregiving” or “dangerous jobs, even firefighting”.
The humanoid half-marathon goals to encourage innovation and popularise the applied sciences used in creating and working such machines.
In an indication of the trade’s energy, funding in robotics and so-called embodied AI amounted to 73.5 billion yuan ($10.8bn) in China in 2025, in accordance with a research by a authorities company.
“For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet Earth. But now, look at robots. Just in terms of autonomous navigation, at least in this specific sport event, they’re already starting to surpass us,” Xie mentioned.
“On one hand, it does make you feel a little bit sad for humanity. But at the same time, technology, especially in recent years, has given us so much imagination.”