Honor's humanoid robot races elite human runners for the first time

Honor's self-developed humanoid robot Lightning raced against elite human runners for the first time. Its rivals included Sebastian Savje, the first person ever to finish a marathon in under 2 hours, and Zhao Jiaju, the first Chinese champion of the 330km Tor des Geants in Italy.

The event featured several 20-meter races. The two runners raced the robot one-on-one first, then together, with more guests joining in. Lightning previously won the Beijing Yizhuang humanoid robot half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.

Lightning stands 169 cm tall and uses a high-dynamic motion system with integrated joint modules. In 100-meter races it relies on a hip-mounted camera for visual navigation, while 400-meter races add a head radar to help plan routes. It is cooled with liquid cooling.

Honor's humanoid robot team has over 200 researchers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The company plans to invest 10 billion dollars over five years to build an all-scenario AI ecosystem, focusing its robot business on shopping malls, factories and homes.