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cereal_burpist [soylentnews.org] writes:

China is organizing what could be one of the weirdest races in history: a half-marathon where 12,000 humans will compete against an army of humanoid robots to see who’s the best long-distance runner.

The 21-kilometer race in Beijing's Daxing district isn't just another tech demo. More than 20 companies are bringing their best walking robots to compete, and they're playing for real money—the top three finishers get prizes regardless of whether they're made of flesh or metal.

This would be the first time humanoid robots race a full 21-kilometer course. Last year, robots were able to join a race without having to complete the full route.

[The event] includes a strict no-wheels policy, and the bots actually need to look human-ish and walk on two legs. They need to be between 0.5 and 2 meters tall—so no giant mechs or tiny robot cars will be sneaking in.

One of the early favorites is Tiangong, a humanoid that can run 10km/h. It also crossed the line alongside some of the fastest humans during last year’s half marathon—after joining for the last 100 meters.

The Tesla Optimus Gen-2 peaks at 8km/h.
Atlas (built by Boston Dynamics) is a bit faster at 9km/h.
The OpenAI-backed 1X NEO... reaches a theoretical speed of 12km/h.

For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_speed [wikipedia.org]

In the 2023 Chicago Marathon [42km, not a half-marathon], Kelvin Kiptum set a time of 2:00:35. That equates to an average speed above 20 km/h,(12.47mph) for two hours.

Original Submission