Training for the Beijing Humanoid Half Marathon is very hard

On April 19, the streets of Yizhuang will be crowded with people. Humanoid robots will join thousands of live humans in a half-marathon at a Beijing industrial technology park. More than 300 robots are expected to compete, which is significantly more than last year’s first competition of its kind, when only 21 robots entered (only six finished the race; the rest tripped, overheated, or otherwise burned out).

Last year’s robot winner was the imposing Tiangong Ultra, a tall, lightweight robot painted in midnight black. The crossing time is 2 hours and 40 minutes (7 minutes and 35 seconds per kilometer). This year, teams want their robotic athletes to be able to run faster and not require remote control. About four out of 10 entrants are autonomous; the remainder are guided by humans in some way. For weeks, a robotics team in the Chinese capital has been practicing at night on the empty streets of Yizhuang.

Such technology competitions are not new. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Defense offered a $1 million prize to the winner of a self-driving car competition in the Mojave Desert. The race is credited with spurring early innovation in the self-driving car industry. Recently, large U.S. tech companies have provided funding to academia and startups to compete in solving tough engineering problems in real-world settings.

In addition to speed, Yizhuang’s robot evaluation also includes factors such as real-time decision-making, endurance and gait. China has more than 150 humanoid robot manufacturers and many more research teams in universities and government laboratories. All want attention, investment and state support, and campaigning can help attract them. This year’s winner will win guaranteed orders worth more than 1 million yuan ($147,000).

The country will also benefit from this. The competition is hosted by the Yizhuang Management Committee and aims to encourage emerging robotics companies to innovate and compete. Yizhuang claims that it has attracted more than 300 robotics supply chain companies to settle in its industrial zone. Officials will test local champions against rivals from across China to see if state funds are well spent. In August, the town provided 100 million yuan in computing resources to companies, early design prototypes and subsidies for each robot sold. Officials hope their company will take the lead in a larger competition with humanoid robot makers elsewhere, especially in the United States.

Subscribers can register Drum TowerOur new weekly newsletter aims to understand how the world is shaping China, and how China is shaping the world.