Chinese humanoids train for the world’s first robot marathon in Beijing
The robot-racers will be limited to humanoid, bipedal models like Casbot’s Casbot 1 and Magiclab’s Wheat. Competitor robots can be remote controlled or fully autonomous.
China is set to host what has been dubbed the world’s first robot half-marathon in Beijing on April 13, prompting several of the country’s leading robot developers to train and prepare their humanoids for the race.
The event—designed to showcase robots’ speed, agility, and performance—will provide a novel way to promote Chinese robotic technology. The race will run for 13 miles (21 kilometers), and will prove to be a stress test for the robots, pushing their hardware to limits.
According to reports, the robot-racers will be limited to humanoid, bipedal models like Casbot’s Casbot 1 and Magiclab’s Wheat. Competitor robots can be remote controlled (including semi-autonomous) or fully autonomous. The top finisher could win a modest sum of 5,000 Yuan ($691) as first prize.
There will also reportedly be prizes for robots that demonstrate the best gait, are most popular, as well as for robots that cross the finish line. Entries are restricted to robotics startups, research institutes, universities, robot clubs, and other innovative entities worldwide.