2025/04/19

Robot Marathon Runners Still Have Ways to Go

“The robot immediately twirled in two circles after taking off from the starting line, hit the wall, and dragged down its human operators with it. It was painful to watch.”
WIRED senior writer Zeyi Yang, describing the early demise of one of 21 robot competitors in Beijing’s half-marathon. Only six crossed the finish line, while running handlers furiously changed batteries, applied cooling, and did repairs on the fly. “Not only did the accompanying humans make makeshift robot shoes with duct tape, they also used it to adhere the head of a robot back onto its body.”
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