Humanoid robots will run a half marathon with humans

On March 4, at a press conference held by the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office, the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone (Beijing Yizhuang) announced that the Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon will be held on April 13, and the world's first humanoid robot half marathon will be held at the same time. Robot teams can register through the MalaMala APP. The registration time for the event is from 10:00 on March 5 to 17:00 on March 11.

The 2025 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon, which has been officially upgraded to the A1 level event of the China Athletics Association, has increased its event scale to 12,000 people, and this year will only have one event, the half marathon. Among them, the "Yizhuang Leading the Way, Smart Leading the Future" humanoid robot half marathon, co-organized by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, and Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee, will be held at the same time.

(Photo source: "Beijing Yizhuang" official account)

According to a previous report by Yicheng Times, the humanoid robot "Tiangong" developed by the National and Local Government-Co-built Embodied Intelligent Robot Innovation Center has been actively preparing for this humanoid robot marathon after completing tasks such as climbing multiple steps, running in the snow, and inspecting and operating power equipment.

Humanoid robot runs full distance for the first time

"The humanoid robot half marathon event, which will be held concurrently with the 2025 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon, will invite humanoid robots from innovative entities such as global robot companies, research institutes, robot clubs, and universities to participate. Humanoid robots will compete with humans in the 21.0975-kilometer half marathon." Li Quan, member of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Working Committee and deputy director of the Management Committee, said at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Half Marathon press conference.

At the 2024 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon, the humanoid robot "Tiangong" transformed into a "gate-closing rabbit" and crossed the finish line with the runners (Photo from the "Beijing Yizhuang" official account)

He reviewed the situation of the Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon in 2024. At that time, the humanoid robot "Tiangong" not only "cheered" the contestants at the starting point, but also crossed the finish line with the contestants, attracting the attention of all walks of life and becoming a highlight of the event.

He said that compared with last year, the biggest breakthrough of this humanoid robot is that humanoid robots can participate in the entire half marathon. At the same time, they are not limited to the running distance of humanoid robots. For example, the Best Endurance Award will be awarded to the robot that runs the longest distance without changing batteries or robots during the competition; the Best Popularity Award will be awarded to the participating robot with the highest popularity through public account voting during the competition.

This event has set up a championship, runner-up and third place, with prize money of 5,000, 4,000 and 3,000 yuan respectively, as well as a series of awards such as the completion award, the best endurance award, the best popularity award, the best gait award, and the best form creativity award. At the same time, generous scientific and technological innovation and research and development awards have been prepared to express recognition and appreciation for the innovative breakthroughs of the humanoid robot R&D team.

What kind of robots can participate in the competition?

The participating robots must have a humanoid appearance and be able to walk or run on two feet. They cannot be wheeled. In terms of control methods, they can be manual remote control (including semi-autonomous) or fully autonomous.

In this event, the principle of "simultaneous registration, same track, and simultaneous start" is adopted for robots and athletes. The humanoid robot will start at the same time as the athlete at the starting point. To ensure the safety of both humans and machines, iron horses or green belts will be used for isolation throughout the entire process. The robot will run the same route as the athletes, but on a separate track.

To ensure that more robots can complete the competition successfully, after evaluating the current research and development progress of humanoid robots, the closing time of the robot competition will be set to approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.

During the competition, you can replace the battery; you can also replace the robot and participate in the whole competition in a relay form. Comprehensive evaluation is based on the finishing time and the number of robot replacements during the competition. Each time a robot is replaced during the competition, a 10-minute penalty will be imposed.

At the same time, in order to create a technological atmosphere for the event, the pre-race starting ceremony will also be hosted by robots, and a series of activities such as robot shows and interactive experiences will be set up after the race.

In addition to horse racing, there are more humanoid robot events this year

Liu Weiliang, member of the Party Leadership Group, deputy director and spokesperson of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said that the 2025 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and the World Humanoid Robot Games are important carrier platforms that are in line with the World Robot Conference.

He also introduced that Beijing will take the lead in hosting a humanoid robot marathon in April this year, and plans to hold the World Humanoid Robot Games on the eve of the 2025 World Robot Conference. The Robot Games will mainly feature humanoid robots, with nearly 20 events including track and field, football, free gymnastics, and application scenarios, fully demonstrating the technological progress and capability improvement of humanoid robots in terms of sports performance, intelligent interaction, and scene application.

As the world's first high-level stage for humanoid robot sports competitions, the "One Conference and One Competition" will accelerate breakthroughs in humanoid robot technology, product iterations and practical applications, and promote humanoid robot technology and related innovative products to better assist economic and social development and benefit mankind.

Source: Beijing Science and Technology News

Written by: Reporter Li Jing