New PR? Humanoid robots in China competed in their first half-marathon

Over the weekend, humans running as fast as they could were chased by robots through the streets of Beijing, China. To be more specific, it was a half-marathon race, and the robots lagged far behind the humans. On Saturday, China held what it's calling the world's first humanoid half-marathon. Over 20 two-legged humanoid robots competed alongside real human runners, according to state-run news outlet Beijing Daily, via CNN World. The teams were from Chinese universities and companies publicizing their humanoid robotics advancements, which China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has dubbed a critical area for competing with the U.S. As CNN reports, local governments in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have invested an estimated 10 billion in developing humanoid robotics to compete with humanoids from U.S. rivals like Boston Dynamics, Figure AI, and Elon Musk's Tesla.