Honor Robot Breaks Half-Marathon World Record in Beijing
A humanoid robot made by Chinese smartphone company Honor completed the Beijing half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world record by over 6 minutes. The achievement highlights China's rapid advances in robotics technology.
Historic Achievement in Beijing
A humanoid robot developed by Honor shattered the men's half-marathon world record at the Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon on Sunday, completing the 21-kilometer course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
The performance beat Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo's human world record of approximately 57 minutes, set in March at the Lisbon road race.
Dramatic Improvement from Last Year
The victory represents spectacular progress from 2025's inaugural robot race, where:
- The winning robot took 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds
- Most robots were unable to finish the race
- Technical failures were common
Race Details
- Participants: Over 100 humanoid robots from 112 teams (up from ~20 last year)
- Technology: Honor's robots used autonomous navigation systems
- Features: 90-95 cm long legs to mimic elite human runners, liquid cooling technology
- Course: Separate lanes for robots and human runners to avoid collisions
China's Robotics Dominance
The event showcases China's push to lead in humanoid robotics, with 73.5 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) invested in robotics and embodied AI in 2025. Three Chinese companies - AGIBOT, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech - are ranked as first-tier global vendors.
"For thousands of years, humans have been at the top on planet Earth. But now, look at robots... they're already starting to surpass us," said spectator Xie Lei.