China to Host Human Vs. Robot Half Marathon Race

Well, it’s begun. Our era of humanoid robots interacting with us in real, tangible ways.

In April, Beijing is hosting a half marathon where humans will compete alongside bipedal (walking/running) robots.

The 21-kilometer race will showcase over 12,000 determined human runners alongside more than 20 teams of cutting-edge humanoid robots, developed by leading manufacturers from across the globe.

The robots are not allowed to use wheels, and must complete the full race. They will be a combination of remote-controlled robots, and fully autonomous ones. And their handlers will be able to swap out their batteries during the race.

Beijing Daily shows some test running robots, which joined runners near the finish line of a race in November.

While walking robots are not new, it will be a challenge for them to keep up the stamina (and battery power) to keep up with their human counterparts.

Do you think human runners will easily beat the robots, or will our mechanical facsimiles pull off a win?

Read more on Dezeen. Cover image via Unsplash.