A unique marathon is taking place in Beijing, where robots participated in the race alongside humans. The organizers compared the event to a racing car competition due to the necessity of having specialized engineering and management teams.
One of the witnesses, working in the field of artificial intelligence, noted: "The robots work really well and are very disciplined... I feel like I’m witnessing a paradigm shift in robotics and artificial intelligence."
The robots were accompanied by human trainers, some of whom physically supported them during the race. Some robots were equipped with sneakers, one of them even wore a boxer’s jersey, while another had a red ribbon tied to its head, on which was written: "Confident in Victory" in Chinese.
The victory in the race was claimed by the Tianjia Ultra robot from the Beijing Robotics Development Center, covering the distance in 2 hours and 40 minutes. One of the companies boasted that their robot looks human-like, possesses feminine facial features, and can nod and smile.
Some companies were testing their robots in the weeks leading up to the race. A total of 21 robots, in the form of humans, joined thousands of runners at the Yichuang marathon in Beijing yesterday, competing over a distance of 21 kilometers alongside the humans.
The robots were presented by Chinese companies, such as Bytedance and Unitree Robotics, in various forms and sizes, ranging from less than 120 cm to 1.8 m. The winner in the male category covered the distance in the fastest time.
