China to Pit 12,000 Humans Against Robots in World's First AI Marathon Race
cereal_burpist writes:
China is organizing what could be one of the weirdest races in history: a half-marathon where 12,000 humans will compete against an army of humanoid robots to see who's the best long-distance runner.
The 21-kilometer race in Beijing's Daxing district isn't just another tech demo. More than 20 companies are bringing their best walking robots to compete, and they're playing for real money-the top three finishers get prizes regardless of whether they're made of flesh or metal.
This would be the first time humanoid robots race a full 21-kilometer course. Last year, robots were able to join a race without having to complete the full route.
[The event] includes a strict no-wheels policy, and the bots actually need to look human-ish and walk on two legs. They need to be between 0.5 and 2 meters tall-so no giant mechs or tiny robot cars will be sneaking in.
One of the early favorites is Tiangong, a humanoid that can run 10km/h. It also crossed the line alongside some of the fastest humans during last year's half marathon-after joining for the last 100 meters.
The Tesla Optimus Gen-2 peaks at 8km/h.
Atlas (built by Boston Dynamics) is a bit faster at 9km/h.
The OpenAI-backed 1X NEO... reaches a theoretical speed of 12km/h.
For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_speed
In the 2023 Chicago Marathon [42km, not a half-marathon], Kelvin Kiptum set a time of 2:00:35. That equates to an average speed above 20 km/h,(12.47mph) for two hours.
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