Twenty-one humanoid robots He joined thousands of runners on the semi-marathon Yizhuang in Beijing on Saturday, the first machines raced next to people over 21 km (13 miles).
Robots from Chinese manufacturers such as Droidvp and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 120cm (3,9ft), others as well as 1.8m (5.99). One company was praised that his robot looked almost human, with feminine characteristics and ability to wink and smile.
Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials described an event as it is similar to the competition of the racing car, given the need for engineering and navigation teams.
“Robots work very well, very stable … I feel that I am witnessing the evolution of robots and AI,” said the viewer on Sishu, who works in artificial intelligence.
The robots were accompanied by human coaches, some of which had to physically support machines during the race.
A few robots wore a running shoes, with one boxing glove lid, and once more carrying a red headband with words “related to victory” in Chinese.
Some robots ended the race, while others fought from the beginning. One robot fell to the starting line and laid an apartment a few minutes before he gets up and fly. One crashed into the fence after he started a few meters, which caused his human operator to end.
Although humanoid robots in China have done performances on marathons in China, this is the first time they raced next to people.
China hopes that the investment in the border industry will be like robotics in creating new economic growth engines. Some analysts, however, the question is whether to have robots to enter marathons a reliable indicator of their industrial potential.
Alan Fern, professor of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at the State University of Oregon, said from Beijing officials to demonstrate such a race more than five years ago.
“[The robot half-marathon] It’s more demonstration of hardware endurance, “he said.
“Chinese companies really focused on showing walking, running, dancing and other feats of agility.
“Generally, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don’t show much about the useful useful work or any kind of basic intelligence,” Fern said.