In a historic fusion of athletic tradition and cutting-edge technology, humanoid robots and human runners took to the same half marathon course in Beijing on Saturday – marking the world’s first event of its kind. (AP Video / April 19, 2025)
BEIJING (AP) — In one small step for robot-kind — thousands of them, really — humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital on Saturday.
The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organizers say was a first. As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people.
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