Humanoid Robots Just Raced Alongside Human Runners in a World-First Half-Marathon. Here’s How It Went The race, held in China on Saturday, showcases the country’s advancements in humanoid technology. Still, only 6 of the 21 robot contestants made it across the finish line The winning humanoid, called Tiangong Ultra, races alongside human runners. It completed a half-marathon in about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Johannes Neudecker / picture alliance via Getty Images On Saturday, Beijing hosted what’s being called the world’s first humanoid half-marathon—a footrace that pitted human runners against human-like robots. While technologically impressive, the outcome of the event should reassure those who fear robots will one day overrun humanity—because it appears they won’t be outrunning us any time soon. Twenty-one humanoids of various shapes and sizes raced among thousands of humans, closely followed by their operators. But just six of the robots successfully reached the finish line, reports Wired’s Zeyi Yang. To participate in the race, the robots had to run on two legs, like humans. However, the participating tech companies and universities were allowed to bring their robots in for battery-replacing pit stops, like racecars. Sometimes they even replaced the whole robot with a new one, though this warranted a time penalty, as reported by CNN’s Chris Lau. A small humanoid contestant is closely followed by its technicians. Kevin Frayer / Getty Images “The robots are running very well, very stable … I feel I’m witnessing the evolution of robots and A.I.,” He Sishu, a spectator who works in artificial intelligence, said to Reuters’ Eduardo Baptista and Alessandro Diviggiano on Saturday. Alan Fern, a robotics researcher at Oregon State University, however, tells Reuters that the recent half-marathon “is more of a hardware endurance demonstration” than one of artificial intelligence. He adds that “Chinese companies have really focused on showing off walking, running, dancing and other feats of agility. Generally, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don’t demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence.” A humanoid robot takes a fall, while another races past. Song Jiaru / VCG via Getty Images The 13.1-mile racetrack had a dedicated humanoid-only lane—which is probably a good idea, given that the robot contestants regularly fell over, lost their heads or even spun out of control (with at least one taking its operator down with it). Nevertheless, Fern was “actually very impressed” that some humanoids completed the race within a given time limit, since he “would have bet that none of them would finish,” as he tells CNN. Tiangong Ultra, the humanoid winner developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, among others, came in at 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. That’s more than an hour and a half behind the winner of the men’s race, who completed it in 1 hour and 2 minutes, but still within the minimum for human runners, which was 3 hours and 10 minutes. Operators switched out Tiangong Ultra’s batteries three times during the race, and it fell once. A small humanoid bot races in human running shoes. VCG / VCG via Getty Images Robots also received awards for the most innovative form, gait design and endurance, according to the Associated Press. CNN writes that the half-marathon showcases China’s technological advancements “as it plays catch-up with the U.S.” in the race to perfect and commercialize humanoid robots. If the aim is to demonstrate useful real-world applications for humanoid technology, perhaps the organizers should consider a house-cleaning or laundry-folding race for the next competition. And maybe they will: As Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, tells Reuters, “a focus going forward for us will be industrial applications for humanoid robots so they can truly enter factories, business scenarios and finally households.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.