ONE of the world’s most bizarre marathons has seen 21 humanoid robots face off against 12,000 real runners – but who came out on top?
The historic first ever competitive race between man and bot was about as fascinating as it sounds with incredible pictures showing the AI machines trying to navigate the 13-mile course.
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All of the runners had been specifically trained to compete in the half marathon with some even wearing running trainers and donning boxing gloves.
The athletic androids came from various Chinese manufacturers, such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics.
And they appeared to come in all shapes and sizes – with some of the designs being as tall as 1.8 metres, and others resembling adolescent bots at just 1.2 metres tall.
The rules of the race said that the robots had to resemble actual people – wheels were deemed cheating.
One of the manufacturers boasted that its invention resembled a feminine runner which could even wink at onlookers.
The racing robots were accompanied by flesh-and-blood athletes, some of whom had to physically support the machines during the run.
But one triumphant machine came out on top.
It pushed through the marathon in just two hours and 40 minutes, beating out all the other bots.
Tiangong Ultra, made by the Beijing Innovation Center of Human Robotics, proved to be the fastest.
On the other hand, the men’s winner of the mixed race finished in just one hour and two minutes.
Some of the bots didn’t actually finish the race.
One droid fell at the starting line – seeming to rest for a few minutes before eventually getting up and setting off.
Another dramatically crashed into a railing after running a short distance – throwing its human operator on the floor in the process.
The Beijing robotics centre’s chief officer Tang Jian said that winner Tiangong Ultra’s performance was made possible by long legs and a genius algorithm.
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This allowed it to accurately imitate how humans run a marathon – as well as change battery just three times during the race.
The chief said: “I don’t want to boast but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong’s sporting achievements.”
Humanoid robots have appeared at marathons in China over the past year – but this marks the first time in history they have raced alongside humans.
Computer science professor Alan Fern said that such tech displays do little to demonstrate artificial intelligence’s ability to demonstrate “useful work or basic intelligence” – despite boastful claims by Beijing.
He added that the software enabling humanoid bots to run was shown off over five years ago.
The AI expert said: “Chinese companies have really focused on showing off walking, running, dancing, and other feats of agility.
“Generally, these are interesting demonstrations, but they don’t demonstrate much regarding the utility of useful work or any type of basic intelligence.”
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