Robot half-marathon puts innovations to the test

Liang Liang, deputy director of the management committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, one of the organizers of the race, said: "The robot half-marathon, the world's first such race, marked a new starting gun for the whole industry. It also sparked deeper public discussion around human-machine coexistence, raised awareness and will help accelerate the development of the robotics industry."

The event came as China accelerates its push to develop humanoid robots, having labeled them as a "strategic frontier" in 2023, when it also set a target of mass production and domestic supply chain security by 2027.

While US companies such as Boston Dynamics and Tesla have dominated headlines with viral demos and futuristic visions, Chinese brands and companies are rapidly catching up — not just in manufacturing but also in mass-producing such robots and making them inexpensive for ordinary people.

For instance, Unitree Robotics, another leading robotics company, priced its G1 humanoid robots at 99,000 yuan ($13,560). Such a price sets them apart from Tesla's Optimus, which is expected to cost between $20,000 and $30,000. The company said it is currently preparing for a globally livestreamed humanoid robot boxing match.

According to a recent report by Leaderobot and nine other institutions, China is on track to produce more than 10,000 humanoid robots this year, accounting for more than half of global output and generating 8.24 billion yuan in sales revenue.