The Chinese robot “Lightning”, developed by the smartphone company “Honor”, was able to achieve an amazing victory over human racers, after completing the second “E-Town” half marathon, as reported by CNN.
The robot covered a distance of 21 kilometers in the Chinese capital, Beijing, in a time of 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world record held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kipelino with a time of 57 minutes and 20 seconds, a difference of more than six minutes, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations.
This humanoid robot, in bright red color and 169 cm tall, appeared with limited arm movement in order to maintain its balance, speeding towards the finish line in a distinctive performance that caught everyone’s attention.
More than 100 teams participated in the race in the human robotics category, nearly five times the number of participants in the first edition last year, but the performance of most teams was not up to expectations.
In the human category, Zhao Haijie and Wang Xiaoxia won the men’s and women’s races respectively, but their time exceeded a full hour, while the robot “Lightning” also outperformed the robot that won the previous edition by a margin of nearly two hours.
The race organizers explained that “the autonomous navigation system and maximum propulsion force were decisive factors in achieving this achievement,” and pointed to the rapid development in the capabilities of the participating robots.
This progress comes as part of the great development that China is witnessing in the field of human robotics, within the framework of an increasing technological competition with the United States, which in turn has advanced models in this field.
Since 2015, the Chinese government has included the robotics sector among the most important strategic sectors in its industrial plans, with the aim of promoting innovation and reducing dependence on low-cost labor, while an official document in 2023 described human robots as “a new horizon in technological competition.”
During the past year, China witnessed a significant increase in robotics events and competitions, including hosting the first World Games for Human Robots in Beijing, in addition to demonstrations at official events that demonstrated the advanced capabilities of these technologies.
