Surreal moment ‘shattered’ robot collapses on line in first ever human vs machine marathon

WATCH the surreal moment that a ROBOT collapsed at the start of a half marathon race against HUMANS.

The historic first ever competitive race between man and bot saw 21 humanoid robots race alongside 12,000 runners around the 13-mile course in Beijing, China, on Saturday.

The E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, in Beijing was a historic race between man and bot

Some robots lost control at the start of the humanoid robot half marathon

The droid fell over and rested on the ground for several minutes before continuing

While another human operator was thrown to the floor after their bot malfunctioned

Reuters

The E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, in Beijing was a historic race between man and bot[/caption]

The robots had to resemble humans and be able to walk or run – wheels were not allowed.

The AI bots were accompanied by human trainers, with some physically supporting the machines during the race.

Some robots completed the race, while others struggled from the beginning.

One droid fell at the starting line and appeared to rest on the ground for a few minutes before eventually getting up and joining the race.

Another dramatically crashed into a railing after running a short distance – throwing its human operator on the floor in the process.

The winning robot was Tiangong Ultra, which crossed the finishing line with a time of two hours and 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, the men’s winner had a time of one hour and two minutes.

Tang Jian, chief technology officer for the creator of the robot, the Beijing Innovation Centre of Human Robotics, said its performance was aided by long legs and an algorithm allowing it to imitate how humans run a marathon.

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Tiangong Ultra won the robot race

Alamy

The robots were not as quick as the human runners[/caption]

Getty

One robot even wore boxing gloves[/caption]

Alamy

The bots were pitted against flesh-and-blood counterparts[/caption]

One of the manufacturers boasted that its invention resembled a feminine runner which could even wink at onlookers

He said: “I don’t want to boast, but I think no other robotics firms in the West have matched Tiangong’s sporting achievements.

The winning robot’s battery was changed just three times during the race.

All of the runners had been specifically trained to compete in the half marathon with some even wearing running trainers and donning boxing gloves.

The athletic androids came from various Chinese manufacturers, such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics.

And they appeared to come in all shapes and sizes – with some of the designs being as tall as 1.8 metres, and others resembling adolescent bots at just 1.2 metres tall.

One of the manufacturers boasted that its invention resembled a feminine runner which could even wink at onlookers.

Most bots wore running trainers

EPA

Robot Tiangon Ultra receives its medal after beating out the other bots[/caption]

EPA

Some donned trainers and were accompanied by human helpers[/caption]