Wedoany.com Report, On March 14th, the highly anticipated 2026 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon officially set its race date – the event will kick off on April 19th. To prepare for various technical aspects before the race, the event organizing committee conducted the first "Humanoid Robot Half Marathon" practice test from the evening of March 14th to the early hours of March 15th.
According to reports, this test attracted over 20 registered autonomous navigation teams to participate, coming from various domestic enterprises and universities. Compared to last year's event, the biggest technical highlight this year is the robots' autonomous decision-making capability. In last year's competition, all teams used methods where technicians followed or guided from the front, with humans remotely controlling the robots. However, the newly added autonomous navigation teams this year will rely entirely on the robots themselves, combining electronic maps for path planning and movement decisions, requiring no human intervention throughout the entire process.
This change places higher demands on the robots' environmental perception, real-time decision-making, and motion control capabilities. At the test site, participating robots needed to independently identify the course, avoid obstacles, and adjust their gait to complete the half marathon distance without human intervention.
In terms of course setup, this year's race route has also been upgraded. The course covers more challenging urban slopes, undulating road surfaces, and ecological sections within parks, with more complex terrain conditions compared to last year. This means participating robots not only need to have the capability for long-duration operation but also must handle the dynamic balance challenges posed by slope changes, differences in road surface materials, and irregular terrain. This undoubtedly serves as a rigorous practical test for the stability and adaptability of motion control algorithms.
As the world's first humanoid robot half marathon, the Beijing Yizhuang event has been regarded as an important testing ground for robot technology transitioning from the laboratory to real-world scenarios since its inaugural run last year. This year's autonomous navigation competition will further test the robots' ability to independently complete tasks in complex environments, while also accumulating valuable data for the application of humanoid robots in practical scenarios such as logistics, inspection, and rescue.
