China\u2019s strategy in robotics mirrors its success in the electric\nvehicle sector: building extensive supply chains, promoting research,\nand providing a market with diverse products and prices.<\/p>\n
Beijing (ANTARA) - Videos of the running competition at The 2026\nBeijing E-Town Half Marathon have been circulating widely across various\nmedia. The event, held on Sunday (19\/4), featured Chinese-made humanoid\nrobots racing against human runners on the track.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s winner was \u201cLightening\u201d or \u201cLightning\u201d, developed by\nHonor, a Huawei subsidiary. The robot completed 21.1 km in 50 minutes\nand 26 seconds, faster than the human half-marathon world record held by\nJacob Kiplimo (57 minutes 20 seconds), and far surpassing last year\u2019s\nrobot achievement, which took 2 hours 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
Physically, \u201cLightning\u201d stands about 170 cm tall with a combination\nof red on the body, head, and parts of the legs, and black on the hips\nand legs. Although not entirely human-like, its proportions are designed\nto resemble an elite runner.<\/p>\n
Technologically, \u201cLightning\u201d uses an integrated connection module\nwith a peak torque of 400 Nm. Its liquid cooling system flows at over 4\nlitres per minute, maintaining stable temperatures during high-load\noperations.<\/p>\n
Honor engineer Du Xiaodi stated that the robot was developed over a\nyear. With legs measuring 90\u201395 cm and cooling technology adapted from\nsmartphones, he is confident that humanoids like \u201cLightning\u201d will bring\nsignificant changes to the industry, though they are still in the early\nstages of development.<\/p>\n
This competition, now in its second edition, demonstrates rapid\nprogress. The number of participants has now exceeded 100 robots, and\nsome are even capable of surpassing the speeds of professional\nrunners.<\/p>\n
Nearly half of the participating robots can run on both legs,\nnavigating more difficult terrain autonomously without remote\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
Behind this performance lies invisible supporting infrastructure.\nCompanies like Qianxun SI provide high-precision satellite-based\npositioning services, while telecommunications providers\u2019 5G-Advanced\nnetworks deliver response times down to milliseconds.<\/p>\n
In terms of industrial scale, data released by international research\nfirm Omdia shows that global humanoid robot exports will reach 13,000\nunits in 2025, with China contributing around 90%. Chinese companies\neven dominate the top six positions in shipment rankings.<\/p>\n
This growth is driven not only by cost efficiency but also by the\nstrength of supply chains, integrated industrial support, and a\nlarge-scale innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Industry players also estimate that the development cost of humanoid\nrobots in Shenzhen can be reduced to around 2 million RMB (approximately\n$282,000), thanks to the availability of core components and mature\nengineering capabilities.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinas-forward-leap-in-humanoid-robotics-1776916402", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }