Humanoid robots to race against humans in first event of its kind

There’ll be huffing and puffing, and probably a fair amount of creaking and clattering, too. We’re talking about the first-ever long-distance running race between robots and humans, which is set to take place in Beijing in April.

The special event is being organized by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (E-Town) in the Chinese capital’s Daxing district, which is home to more than 140 robot-related companies.

Tech firms, research institutions, and robot clubs from around the world are being invited to enter their bipedal bots in the 13-mile running race, which will also include some 12,000 humans, local media reported.

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In a bid to make the race competitive, participating robots must have a humanoid appearance as well as a mechanical structure that’s capable of bipedal walking or running, organizers said.

And as you might expect, wheels are strictly forbidden.

Additional rules stipulate that the height of a robotic competitor has to be between 19.7 inches (50 centimeters) and 78.7 inches (2 meters), and have a maximum extension distance from the hip joint to the sole of their feet of at least 17.7 inches (45 centimeters), Sky News reported.

Participating robots can be remote-controlled or fully autonomous, and teams are allowed to swap out batteries during the race if required.

As for the human competitors, we’re assuming they’ll be closely monitored in case any rogue runners try to trip up robotic rivals threatening to outpace them.

Interest has been growing in racing humanoid robots against human athletes, especially in China. Last fall, a humanoid robot called Tiangong drew attention when it raced the last 100 meters of the Yizhuang Half Marathon in Beijing, and shortly after that a couple of quadruped robots ran as pacesetters at the Hangzhou Marathon.

With impressive advancements continuing to be made in the world of humanoid robots, there’s expected to be a lot of interest in April’s long-distance running race.