A humanoid robot named Flash smashed the human-held world record during recent a half-marathon race held in Beijing. Both humans and robots ran side by side in the event, separated for safety reasons.
The winning robot ran over 13 miles in just 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world-record holder Jacob Kiplimo by nearly seven minutes, with an average speed of less than four minutes per mile.
This is a major improvement from last year’s humanoid half-marathon, where the winning robot took nearly three hours to run the same distance.
The winning robot (as well as the second and third place humanoids) were made by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, which has made a significant pivot into robotics this year, showing off a robot phone and humanoid robot at this year’s Mobile World Congress.
This could be an indicator that other smartphone companies may soon enter the robotics market. Apple is reportedly developing a home robot, and the latest five-year-plan released by the Chinese government highlights humanoid robot development as a major priority.
Smartphones and robots share many similar components: a computer, cameras, sensors. Honor told CNET in a statement that its work on “thermal management, lightweight structures, and hardware reliability within the consumer electronics sector provides a robust foundation for stable motion of its humanoid robots. Moving forward, Honor robots will focus on the consumer market.”
To see the record-breaking robot in action, check out the video in this article.
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