BEIJING — In an unprecedented test of machine endurance, China will stage the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon on April 13 at the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, where bipedal machines will attempt to complete 21.0975 kilometers through urban terrain. The event features “Tiangong,” a domestically developed humanoid robot that recently achieved a 12 km/h running pace and outdoor stair-climbing of 134 steps – milestones signaling China’s advances in embodied intelligence.
From Lab to Marathon: The Tiangong Breakthrough
Developed by the Beijing-based robotics firm ExTian, Tiangong’s latest iteration integrates neuromorphic vision-locomotion coordination – a system mimicking human proprioception. Unlike Boston Dynamics’ parkour-focused Atlas robot, Tiangong prioritizes energy efficiency, sustaining 90 minutes of continuous motion via liquid-cooled hydraulic actuators and a 4.2 kWh graphene hybrid battery.
Pre-Race Technical Demonstrations
- Dynamic stair navigation at 0.8 m/s (surpassing MIT’s 2023 benchmark of 0.5 m/s)
- Adaptive gait transitions between asphalt, grass, and cobblestone
- Real-time obstacle avoidance using multi-spectral lidar (resolution: 0.02° angular accuracy)
“This isn’t just a race; it’s a stress test for embodied AI in unstructured environments. Tiangong’s cerebellum-inspired motion controller processes 3,200 sensory data points per second to maintain balance – comparable to human reflex latency.”
— Dr. Liang Qiao, Chief Engineer at ExTian
The Global Race for Bipedal Mobility
China’s marathon initiative accelerates competition in humanoid robotics:
- U.S.: Tesla’s Optimus (8 km/h) focuses on factory logistics
- Japan: Honda’s ASMAID project targets elderly care mobility
- EU: Germany’s DyNAMO consortium leads in exoskeleton integration
Technical Hurdles and Ethical Debates
Safety protocols dominate preparations:
- Emergency shutdown if joint torque exceeds 220 Nm (human femur fracture threshold)
- 5G-connected swarm intelligence for collision prevention
- Carbon-fiber “exosuits” to protect internal components from impact
“Pushing machines to human-like endurance risks anthropomorphism overshoot. We need standards before these robots enter public spaces.”
— Dr. Emilia Varga, AI Ethics Institute
Key Context
- Embodied AI market forecast: $38.9B by 2030 (Grand View Research)
- Global humanoid robot shipments: 250,000 units in 2024 (IFR)
- Tiangong’s R&D cost: $17.2M (2021-2024)
