Robots can now run a half-marathon faster than humans and are rapidly homing in on the men's 100-metre sprint record. But why are companies so keen to create speedy robots that have no obvious application in homes or factories?
Robots can now run a half-marathon faster than humans and are rapidly homing in on the men's 100-metre sprint record. But why are companies so keen to create speedy robots that have no obvious application in homes or factories?
By Matthew Sparkes
28 April 2026
A humanoid robot from Honor crosses the finish line during the 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their fast-improving athleticism as they whizzed past human runners in Beijing
The race's inaugural edition last year was riddled with mishaps, and most robots were unable to finish.
BEIJING: A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in…
Dozens of humanoid robots whizzed past human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing, China.
In Cina gli umanoidi hanno battuto i tempi umani nella mezza maratona
A humanoid robot took the fastest half-marathon record away from human athletes.
