Humanoid robots outpaced human performance in a half-marathon in Beijing, marking a major leap in robotics technology. The event, held in the city’s E-Town district, featured more than 100 teams and over 300 robots competing alongside human runners.
The fastest autonomous robot completed the 21-kilometre race in about 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world record of roughly 57 minutes set earlier this year.
Under competition rules, remotely controlled robots received time penalties, meaning the autonomous entry was declared the official winner despite another robot finishing faster under human guidance.
The race highlighted rapid progress compared to 2025, when the winning robot took more than two and a half hours to finish the same distance.
Experts say improvements in balance, power systems and decision-making are pushing humanoid robots closer to real-world applications, though some machines still struggled, with falls and technical issues reported during the race.
