A humanoid robot named Flash, built by Chinese smartphone maker Honor, won a half-marathon in Beijing and shattered the human world record. The robot covered more than 13 miles in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo by nearly seven minutes. Humans and robots competed side by side, separated for safety.
Flash averaged a pace of less than four minutes per mile, a vast improvement over last year's winning humanoid, which took nearly three hours for the same distance. The top three humanoid finishers were all Honor robots. The race marked Honor's growing push into robotics after unveiling a robot phone and humanoid at this year's Mobile World Congress. Honor has pivoted significantly into the field this year. The company draws on shared technologies like computers, cameras, and sensors from its smartphone expertise. Smartphones and robots also overlap in thermal management, lightweight structures, and hardware reliability, Honor said in a statement. Those consumer electronics strengths provide a foundation for stable robot motion. Honor plans to target the consumer market with future robots. Beijing's event highlights China's emphasis on humanoid development, as noted in the government's latest five-year plan. Reports suggest other firms, including Apple, may follow into home robotics.
