Robot Tiangong Ultra wins world's first humanoid half-marathon

The world's first humanoid robot half-marathon was held in Beijing on Saturday, with the humanoid robot Tiangong Ultra claiming the championship by completing the 21.0975-kilometer race in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.

Though the men's winner of the race had a time as short as 1 hour and 2 minutes, the machine demonstrated profound performance. A staff member of Tiangong's maker, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, explained the tech behind the win.

"The bot achieved its 'personal' best today," said Wei Jiaxing, head of public relations of the center. "We improved the stability, heat resistance and shock resistance of its joints."

"Also, we have been upgrading its motion control algorithm to adapt it to all kinds of road surfaces," Wei explained.

With all the improvements, Tiangong's running speed has increased from the previous 6 kilometers per hour to as fast as 12 km/h.

In pictures: Humanoid robots go all out in half-marathon

Unrivaled performance

Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the center, said Tiangong's performance was aided by long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon.

"I don't want to boast, but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong's sporting achievements," Tang said, adding that the robot switched batteries just three times during the race.

The center is 43 percent owned by two state-owned enterprises, while tech giant Xiaomi's robotics arm and leading Chinese humanoid robot firm UBTech have equal shares in the rest.

It's worth noting that the name for the robot champion Tiangong is not the same as that for the core module of the China Space Station. Though spelled the same in Latin letters, the two names look different in Chinese characters: The robot's name can be translated to "celestial craft," while the space module's name means "heavenly palace."

A meaningful race

Some experts have questioned whether it's necessary for robots to look and act like humans, but others say the competition has its own meanings.

"This kind of gathering will attract more attention to the industry, which will give us more room for imagination," Gai Keke, professor at the School of Cyberspace Science and Technology at the Beijing Institute of Technology, told CGTN.

"Meanwhile, by reviewing the competition process, the industry can discover new problems and technical issues," Gai said. "This is of great significance for accelerating the commercialization process."

Hugo Award-winning science fiction author Liu Cixin told China Media Group that he believed the event would help the public better understand the capabilities of humanoid robots.

"I think the robot marathon is more of a showcase. The robots demonstrate their ability to move in a stable, balanced way while running," Liu said. "Robots that can assist the elderly or care for patients have huge market potential. Household robots that can handle chores are also extremely useful."

"Of course, robots haven't reached that level yet. But once they do, the market will be enormous, and the impact on daily life will be profound," he added.

(Zhao Chenchen and Gong Zhe contributed to the story. Cover: The Tiangong humanoid robot crosses the finish line of the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon in Beijing, China, April 19, 2025. Qu Bo/CGTN.)