Beijing, March 5 (HS): Humanoid robots will participate in the Beijing Half Marathon to be held in April this year, while a humanoid robot sports competition will also be held in August. This information was given in a press conference organized by the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government on Tuesday.
This half marathon will be held on April 13 in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Zone located in the south-east of Beijing. In this competition, robots and human athletes will run on the same route, but a separate track will be set for robots.
These tracks will be protected with barriers or green belts, so that the safety of both humans and robots can be ensured.
The maximum time limit for robots for the competition has been set at 3 hours 30 minutes. During this time, teams will get permission to change the battery or change the robot in relay format. The time and number of replacements will be taken into account in the final evaluation, where an additional penalty of 10 minutes will be imposed for each replacement.
Participating robots must be of humanoid design and must only be capable of bipedal movement (bipedal walking or running). Wheeled robots will not be allowed in the competition. Control methods may include manual remote control (including semi-autonomous) or fully autonomous operation. Teams will ensure that their robots do not damage the track, other robots or nearby people and that they follow the designated route and all technical regulations.
The winner, runner-up and third-place robots in the competition will be awarded prizes of 5,000, 4,000 and 3,000 yuan (approximately 697, 558 and 418 US dollars) respectively. In addition, other special awards such as the ‘Completion Award’, ‘Best Endurance Award’ and ‘Most Creative Design Award’ will also be awarded. Humanoid robot development teams will also receive special recognition.
The competition is open to global robot companies, research institutes, robot clubs and universities.
The robotics industry in China is growing rapidly. Strong capital investment is making this sector progress steadily and its use is increasing in various sectors including industries, healthcare and service sectors.
According to a report published at the 2024 World AI Conference held in Shanghai, China’s humanoid robot market was around 2.76 billion yuan in 2023. It is expected to grow to 75 billion yuan by 2029, which will be 32.7 percent of the global market.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
