All posts tagged: Humanoid

A Humanoid Robot Set a Half-Marathon Record in China

A Humanoid Robot Set a Half-Marathon Record in China

Published by skeptic

Over the weekend in China, a humanoid robot shattered world half-marathon record—the human record—by seven minutes. The star performer was a robot developed by the Chinese company Honor (the smartphone maker), which finished the 13.1-mile race in 50 minutes, 26 seconds. The human record, set by Ugandan Olympic medalist Jacob Kiplimo, is 57 minutes, 20 seconds. The result marks an impressive milestone especially considering that, just a year earlier, the fastest robot at this half-marathon event took two and a half hours to complete the same distance. But Honor’s robot was not the only participant. The event consisted of more than 100 humanoid robots from 76 institutions across China. The robots lined up alongside 12,000 human runners in Beijing’s E-Town, albeit on separate courses to avoid accidents. The contrast in performance between humans and robots was more than evident. Run, Robot, Run A humanoid robot is designed to mimic the structure and movement of the human body, with legs, arms, and sensors that allow it to interact with its environment. In this case, the winning …

Chinese Humanoid Robot Runs Half Marathon, Beats Fastest Human Time in History

Chinese Humanoid Robot Runs Half Marathon, Beats Fastest Human Time in History

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech A mere year ago, the half marathon for humanoid robots in Beijing mainly produced slapstick comedy. The bots could be seen awkwardly trotting alongside their human handlers, often struggling to get anywhere near the finish line. The fastest time to cover the 13.1-mile distance was two hours and 40 minutes, allowing the winner to just barely qualify for a human participation award. The second annual half marathon that took place this past Sunday, in contrast, was a stunning achievement. The fastest robot, a humanoid built by Chinese smartphone maker Honor, completed the course in a mere 48 minutes and 19 seconds — a stunning nine minutes faster than the human world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo earlier this year. That top bot was remotely controlled by its human handlers. A separate Honor robot that autonomously navigated the course crossed the finish line in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, also crushing Kiplimo’s world record. Thanks to the …

Humanoid robot runs a half-marathon race faster than the human world record

Humanoid robot runs a half-marathon race faster than the human world record

Published by Sam Flores

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now Playing Humanoid robot runs a half-marathon race faster than the human world record 00:26 UP NEXT Experts sound alarm as new AI-generated videos of Iran war spread across social media 03:28 76-year-old loses $1.6 million savings to AI investment scam 04:57 How ‘slopaganda’ AI videos could influence the war between the U.S. and Iran 04:15 Inside the California retail store built and run entirely by AI 07:51 New York City releases guidelines for AI use in schools 04:12 Anthropic says newest AI model is too powerful to release to public 05:58 Social media trend shows people turning to AI chatbots to answer medical questions 03:12 College professors turn to oral exams to combat AI 03:16 Police release Tennessee grandmother after AI facial recognition led to her arrest 02:48 New documentary asks if we are doomed by AI 12:07 New Jersey teacher builds chatbot to help improve students writing 02:48 Viral robot appearances on the rise as White House hosts …

‘New era’: Humanoid robot outruns humans in Beijing half-marathon, beats world record

‘New era’: Humanoid robot outruns humans in Beijing half-marathon, beats world record

Published by Sam Flores

A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps.  The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21-kilometre (13-mile) race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, according to a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race kicked off. That was faster than the human world record holder, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race.  The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward from last year’s inaugural race, during which the winning robot finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. But the competition, which was held alongside a race for humans, wasn’t without hiccups – one robot fell flat at the start line, another bumped into a barrier. Read moreWhy Anthropic’s new AI model is too powerful to release Du Xiaodi, Honor’s test development engineer, said his team was happy …

You Can Soon Buy a ,370 Humanoid Robot on AliExpress

You Can Soon Buy a $4,370 Humanoid Robot on AliExpress

Published by skeptic

Listing consumer electronics on the internet’s large ecommerce marketplaces is a key step in “democratizing” the products, allowing them to be purchased by anyone with just a click. It has happened to cars (in the United States, you can buy a Hyundai on Amazon), and now it’s happening to humanoid robots. The Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics, among the most active robot-makers in the field, is preparing to bring its most affordable model, the Unitree R1, to international markets through Alibaba Group’s marketplace. According to reports in The South China Morning Post, the rollout will initially cover North America, Japan, Singapore, and Europe. There’s no exact on-sale date for the robots yet, but the Post report says it will show up as soon as this week. This is not the first time Unitree has used AliExpress as a global storefront. The company’s G1 model, the more powerful and more expensive predecessor to the R1, is already listed at just under $19,000. The G1 is already on sale on AliExpress. It’s as much of a symbolic step before …

Video Shows Humanoid Robot Chasing a Pack of Wild Boars

Video Shows Humanoid Robot Chasing a Pack of Wild Boars

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech They may struggle to help us out in our day-to-day lives, but humanoid robots are certainly providing us with plenty of entertainment, from flashy martial arts demonstrations to taking on humans in tennis. In the latest stunt, a customized Unitree G1 robot can be seen chasing a small flock of wild boars through an empty car parking lot in Warsaw, Poland. The widely disseminated footage shows the robot — dubbed Edward Warchocki, for some reason — jogging across a small patch of grass while chasing down the wild animals, only to raise its fist in the air in frustration after they successfully get away. “I’m herding the wild boars into the forest,” the robot’s account wrote in the caption. The European capital has been struggling to control the proliferation of several thousand wild boars that continue to call the city their home, prompting efforts to cull themthat have included shootings in residential areas. Chasing them with much slower …

The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home

The gig workers who are training humanoid robots at home

Published by skeptic

Investors are pouring money feverishly into solving this challenge, spending over $6 billion on humanoid robots in 2025. And at-home data recording is becoming a booming gig economy around the world. Data companies like Scale AI and Encord are recruiting their own armies of data recorders, while DoorDash pays delivery drivers to film themselves doing chores. And in China, workers in dozens of state-owned robot training centers wear virtual-reality headsets and exoskeletons to teach humanoid robots how to open a microwave and wipe down the table.  “There is a lot of demand, and it’s increasing really fast,” says Ali Ansari, CEO of Micro1. He estimates that robotics companies are now spending more than $100 million each year to buy real-world data from his company and others like it. A day in the life Workers at Micro1 are vetted by an AI agent named Zara that conducts interviews and reviews samples of chore videos. Every week, they submit videos of themselves doing chores around their homes, following a list of instructions about things like keeping their …

Surreal Footage Shows Melania Trump Walking Into White House Summit With Humanoid Robot

Surreal Footage Shows Melania Trump Walking Into White House Summit With Humanoid Robot

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech President Donald Trump’s State-of-the-Union speech last month was notably light on education policy. While actively dismantling the US Department of Education and implementing shameful anti-trans policies at schools, the Trump administration has focused its efforts on AI education in what it frames as an attempt to ensure that young Americans have the “skills and understanding necessary to thrive in the AI-driven workforce.” Beyond advocating for the use of AI to teach impressionable young minds — the tech’s extensive and well-documented shortcomings be damned — the White House is making it clear that it’s putting it front and center. During a surreal publicity stunt on Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump walked down the red carpet of the White House’s Eastern Room next to a black-and-white humanoid robot, dubbed Figure 03, built by US-based company Figure. Introduced in October, Figure 03 is the company’s third generation humanoid robot, designed to be a “truly general-purpose robot” that can “perform human-like tasks …

Amazon just bought a startup making kid-size humanoid robots

Amazon just bought a startup making kid-size humanoid robots

Published by skeptic

Amazon has confirmed that it has acquired Fauna Robotics, a two-year-old startup founded by former Meta and Google engineers who are developing kid-size humanoid robots. The acquisition was first reported by Bloomberg. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. What we do know is that Fauna’s employees, including its two founders, will join Amazon in New York City. “We are excited about Fauna’s vision to build capable, safe, and fun robots for everyone,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “Together with Amazon’s robotics expertise and decades of experience earning customer trust in the home through our retail and devices businesses, we’re looking forward to inventing new ways to make our customers’ lives better and easier.” Fauna began shipping its first product, a 59-pound bipedal robot called Sprout, earlier this year to select research and development partners. This is Amazon’s second robotics acquisition — at least, that we know about — this month. Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch earlier this month that it has also acquired Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup known for its stair-climbing …