Robots are running half marathons – but no records are under threat

Humanoid robots can whisk eggs, tie shoelaces, and this weekend showed they can run alf marathons too. But world record holder Jacob Kiplimo has little to fear.

On Saturday, 21 robots competed in the Yizhuang half marathon in Beijing. One fell at the start line, a second went straight into a railing.

Of the robots that did finish, the fastest was Tiangong Ultra with a time of 2 hours and 40 minutes.

This was 98 minutes behind the winner, 45 minutes slower than the average male runner in the UK, and 36 minutes behind the fastest half marathon by someone carrying a fridge.

Tiangong, which had a human support team, switched batteries three times in the race.

Bipedal robots are unlikely, for now, to catch on in the way imagined by sci-fi (or tech boosters).

Humans are the only mammals to habitually walk on two legs, relying on the inner ear’s balance system to stay upright on uneven terrain.

We’re not close to seeing a robot tackle trail running.

Photo credits: VCG via Getty Images