The 21-kilometre (13-mile) event held in the Chinese capital's E-Town -- a state-backed hub for high-tech manufacturing -- is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions.
Curious human runners lined up on their side of the road and waited patiently with mobile phones at the ready to shoot each machine as they prepared to depart.
Another, powered by propellers and designed to look like a Transformer, veered across the starting line before crashing into a barrier and knocking over an engineer.
“The marathon helps push humanoid robots one step closer toward industrialisation.”
Around 20 teams from across China are taking part in the competition -- with robots ranging from 75 to 180 centimetres (2.46 to 5.9 feet) tall and weighing up to 88 kilograms (194 pounds).
Engineers told AFP the goal was to test the performance and reliability of the androids -- emphasising that finishing the race, not winning it, was the main objective.
“Honestly, there are very few opportunities for the whole industry to run at full speed over such a long distance or duration. It’s a serious test for the battery, the motors, the structure -- even the algorithms.”
“But just in case, we’ve also prepared a backup robot,“ he added.
“The significance (of the race) lies in the fact that humanoid robots can truly integrate into human society and begin doing things that humans do.”
In January, Chinese start-up DeepSeek drew attention with a chatbot it claimed was developed more cost-effectively than its American counterparts.
Dancing humanoid robots also captivated audiences during a televised Chinese New Year gala.
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