Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 20 (Reporters Guo Yujing, Zhang Xiao, Li Chunyu) Spiridon Louis, who won the first marathon championship in Olympic history in 1896, would not have expected that robots could also stand on the marathon track in China 129 years later.

　　Taking the human body as the introductory body and artificial intelligence as the brain, we set out simultaneously with humans, run the half-marathon track together, and share the joy together...

　　April 19, Yizhuang, Beijing. After an epoch-making starting gun fired, a new history of global human-computer collaboration begins here.

　　On April 19, the humanoid robot participating team was preparing to set off at the starting point. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Cao Can
　　An unprecedented run

　　At 7 a.m., at the departure point of Beijing Nanhaizi Park, the mist has not dissipated and the crowds are surging.

　　On one side of the track, human runners hung excitement and novelty on their faces; on the other side, 20 humanoid robot teams were making preparations for the final pre-race.

　　Holding breath and concentrating, waiting for the order... "Bang!" At 7:30, the world's first half marathon of "man-machine running together" fired its gun and started.

　　The "Tiangong Ultra" with a height of 1.8 meters and a weight of 55 kilograms was the first to set out. With the "blessing" of the rigid-flexible coupling design of high-power integrated joints and legs, the rigid-flexible coupling of legs and feet, it stabilized and maintained a speed of 7 to 8 kilometers per hour, which caused exclamations from the crowd.

　　"Tiangong Ultra" is good at running, but also requires battery replacement. In this regard, the 1.2-meter-height humanoid robot "Tornado Boy" has its own strategy. It has fast steps and a stable center of gravity. It hopes to compete with the "big guy" with long battery life.

　　On April 19, the Tornado Boys Songyan Power N2 (center) was in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Chenlin
　　Marathon is an extreme challenge to endurance and will, symbolizing human beings’ unremitting pursuit of transcending themselves. These participating robots have different performance, size and appearance, and their future application scenarios are also varied. Why do you have to practice halfway through?

　　As the ultimate carrier for the development of robots and artificial intelligence, humanoid robots have gradually entered the practical application scenario stage from the initial proof of concept stage. Can we "use competitions to promote research" and let development usher in a new "dawn moment"? This idea, which originated from the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone at the end of 2024, was quickly responded to by all parties.

　　In order to deal with this "extreme test" of 21.0975 kilometers, the robot participating teams put in "hard work". They started a large number of long-distance tests in advance, simulated different terrain and environmental conditions, optimized the robot's gait and energy management, strengthened perception and decision-making algorithms, and made the robot's movement more stable and smoother.

　　Some robots fell off parts, cracked joints, and accidentally fell during road tests. These problems and data from "running" were recorded by the R&D team one by one and targeted and improved; if you want to hold this competition that has no experience, the organizer must also "cross the river by feeling the stones". The work meeting and coordination meeting were held late at night, with route design, rule formulation, linkage guarantee... one by one.

　　On April 19, Tiangong team player Tiangong Ultra (second from left) crossed the finish line in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xin
　　Excellence and poor performance are not the only evaluation yardstick. 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds - "Tiangong Ultra" won the championship, and 6 robot teams successfully completed the competition.

　　Fall down, help up, replace battery, set off again... Technology shines into the sense of reality, impacting everyone's senses and cognition.

　　Seeking new and realistic

　　How many years has it been taken for humans to go from walking upright to learning to run? How long did the robot run from wheeled to touching the ground? The time orders given by the generative model are: millions of years and decades.

　　But now, innovation is not measured in years, but in heaven.

　　Let’s take a look at the development timeline of “Tornado Boy” – its previous generation will go in May 2024, can run in June, complete two-leg and one-leg jump in July, have obstacle avoidance ability through reinforcement learning in September, start dancing skills in October, upgrade at the end of the year, and have stronger performance. A backflip was achieved in March this year...it will be better after running a half marathon.

　　On April 19, Tornado Boys player Songyan Power N2 and the team were interviewed after the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
　　The arrival of new technologies requires waiting and efforts to catalyze.

　　"Once technology makes a breakthrough, especially after it has general capabilities, the value and significance it releases will be huge." said Yu Haibin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

　　The core purpose of this "human-machine running" is to promote the development of humanoid robot technology to new and industrial development.

　　Verification - Continuous and stable movement in long-distance and complex terrain puts forward extremely high requirements for the comprehensive capabilities of humanoid robots of different configurations, such as battery life, motion control, and environmental adaptation. This will promote the R&D team to break through existing technology bottlenecks, accelerate product design improvement, promote supply chain maturity, and reduce mass production costs.

　　Promotion - After the marathon competition, the performance and reliability of the core components of humanoid robots and the stability of the whole machine have been further improved, and humanoid robots have been promoted to accelerate the entry of special dangerous operations, intelligent manufacturing, commercial services and even family scenarios, assisting humans in completing tasks such as security patrols, live operations, and high-intensity operations, becoming a capable assistant to human production and life.

　　"Chinese humanoid robots will definitely develop well, and we have the confidence." Liang Liang, deputy director of the Management Committee of Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, said that humanoid robots are composed of thousands of parts, and behind them is a long industrial chain. my country has a complete range of manufacturing industries and strong industrial supporting capabilities, which has laid a solid foundation for the innovative development of the robot industry.

　　On April 19, the robot performed at the 2025 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
　　Rich scientific research talents and systematic industrial planning are another driving force.

　　Wang Sheng, partner of Inno Angel Fund, said that some areas of my country gather upstream and downstream companies such as bionic robots, sensors, and AI chips to form a closed loop of "R&D-Pilot-Mass Production" and open up "embodied intelligent robots + application scenarios", creating unique conditions for humanoid robots to accelerate from "laboratory stars" to "realistic productivity".

　　Future-oriented question

　　The end of the game means a new beginning.

　　During the competition, the reporter saw this scene: When the humanoid robot passed by, the "delivery guy" stopped running; the parents held their children to watch the game on the sidelines, shouting for the humans and robot runners; the young man turned on the live broadcast on his mobile phone, unwilling to miss any running scene...

　　The development of science and technology needs to be seen, accepted and understood.

　　"Using competitions as a medium to stimulate the public's interest in the fields of artificial intelligence and robots is also an attempt to promote the combination of government, industry, academia and research." said Xiong Youjun, general manager of Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.

　　Where should a robot that can run long-distance running?

　　On April 19, the young naughty boys player Songyan Power N2 (front right) was at the end of the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
　　Humanity’s expectations for the future are the direction that technology should go. Triggering the "benevolent collision" between science and technology and society will help better grasp the "human-machine boundary" and promote the development from "human-machine symbiosis" to "human-machine co-prosperity".

　　Seeds of innovation are planted at a deeper level. The participating robot "Little Giant" was developed by 7 teachers from Beijing Vocational University of Science and Technology and 4 students in their spare time. Their majors involved in the fields of electromechanical, algorithms, mechanical manufacturing, clothing design, etc.

　　Although the "little giant" is small, it has a big goal. "This year it is 75 cm tall, and it still needs to be relayed after the race. We strive to grow to 1.2 meters next year and run 12 kilometers; then grow to 1.4 meters later, and strive to complete the half-marathon; in the future, we will go up to a step every year, running step by step." Huang Dunhua, dean of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Beijing Vocational University of Science and Technology, said.

　　On April 19, the Little Giants player Beijing Vocational University "0306" Little Giants waved during the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Chenlin
　　In-depth industrial cooperation is brewing in a larger dimension. The embodied intelligent platform of "Huisi Kaiwu" equipped with "Tiangong 2.0" realizes the intelligence of the entire process from task understanding to execution, both open source and open.

　　"The high-quality data set formed through technical verification and actual participation will further improve the basic algorithm and tool chain of 'Huisi Kaiwu', and support all types of robots around the world to better adapt to different scenarios and complete more tasks." said Che Zhengping, head of embodied intelligent technology at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.

　　Li Quan, member of the Working Committee of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone and deputy director of the Management Committee, said: "The essence of humanoid robots' 'horse-running' is the dream of human beings running. The marathon track will eventually be completed, but the exploration of human-machine collaboration will not stop."

　　After the debut, will the half marathon of "man-machine running together" be held next year? The reporter learned that the new competition has taken shape.

　　The new goal of the event is: to attract more comprehensive teams to participate, and to encourage more robots to finish the race; to promote more robots to break through the limits of sports performance, achieve "stronger" in the adaptability of complex environments, and achieve more independent decision-making.

　　Emergency, advancement, dance together... Let's set off! In the name of the future.

[Editor in charge: Chen Tingyu]