A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor completed a half marathon in Beijing in 50 minutes and 26 seconds on Sunday, surpassing the current men's world record held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo of 57 minutes 20 seconds.¹

The robot, equipped with an autonomous navigation system, maintained an average speed of approximately 25 kilometres per hour over the roughly 21-kilometre course in Yizhuang, in the capital's south, according to state broadcaster CCTV.¹ Spectators lined the roads to watch the machines and human runners compete in separate lanes to avoid collisions.¹

The winning robot finished well ahead of the top human competitor in Sunday's race.¹ Other robots participating in the event displayed varying capabilities, with some demonstrating agility comparable to sprinters such as Usain Bolt, while others showed more basic movement.¹

The result marked substantial progress from last year's event, when robot runners fell short of such performance levels.¹ The race underscored advances in Chinese robotics development and the country's efforts to establish leadership in the global robotics industry.²