The world's first half-marathon run by humans and humanoid robots will start at 30:00 on October 0 in Yizhuang, Beijing. Recently, the reporter saw at the test site located in the Beijing Smart E-sports Center that the robot team is further improving the performance of the robot through simulation and road measurement, and preparing for the official debut.

20 Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon adopts the innovative form of "man-machine co-running" 0.0 km, and it is expected that more than 0 public runners and nearly 0 robot companies will participate in the race.

The reporter saw at the scene that the asphalt pavement of the test site was close to the road conditions of the competition, and the humanoid robot was running at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour, and it could complete the "hot swap" battery swap in more than 0 seconds without shutting down. In addition, in order to reduce the impact of running on the robot body and joints, some humanoid robots wear "sneakers" to play a protective role.

At the test site, the organizer also opened a separate room for each robot team, which is convenient for robot assembly, testing and optimization. Liang Liang, deputy director of the Management Committee of Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, introduced that the organizing committee carefully designed the half-marathon route, which integrates natural, humanistic and technological elements, passing through Nanhaizi Park, Wenbo Bridge, Paulownia Avenue and other landmark points.

The reporter learned that the terrain of this competition is not simple for the robot, including flat asphalt roads, potholes and cracks, as well as long and gentle slopes, short steep slopes, as well as stone roads, grass, gravel roads and other areas, the robot needs to accurately adjust the pace, attitude, control power and braking.

Liang Liang said that the humanoid robots participating in the competition are different in style, height, weight, function, etc., and also have their own emphasis, some are good at running, some have high "appearance", and some can communicate.

Guo Yijie, the technical director of the "Tiangong Team", introduced that the humanoid robot "running horse" needs to be prepared at the level of embodied intelligence, "small and small brain" and ontology optimization. Specifically, in terms of embodied intelligence, it is necessary to continuously improve the running speed and explore the peak boundaries of joint torque and rotational speed; Secondly, it is necessary to improve the stability of movement, and make corresponding adjustments by improving the accuracy of the humanoid robot's perception of its own state and environmental state during motion; In addition, it is necessary to improve the "anthropomorphism" of robot running as much as possible, and import human movement data to make the running posture of humanoid robots more natural.

In terms of the robot body, Guo Yijie said that it is necessary to reduce the structural weight of the robot, find the balance between weight and strength, and carry out coupling design for its legs, improve thermal conductivity and air-cooled heat dissipation technology, and improve sports stability and endurance.

In terms of competition system, the humanoid robot "Horse Race" is similar to a racing competition, and the robots compete in teams, equipped with human navigators, operators, and engineers who run synchronously. The process of changing the robot battery is similar to the "tire change" in a racing race, and the starting mode will also be timed separately in the form of "qualifying".

"This competition has three major functions: a technical testing platform, a capability display platform, and an application promotion platform, which tests the technical capabilities of humanoid robots with a half-marathon as a scene, so that robots can go out of the laboratory, display scientific and technological innovation achievements, and promote multi-scenario applications." Liang Liang said, "The quality of the competition performance is by no means the only 'yardstick' to evaluate the technical strength and man-machine cooperation ability of the participating teams. ”

"Humanoid robots running a marathon with humans is the first time in the world for the organizers, the participating teams, the human runners, and the spectators. The robot race is not the end, but the starting point of industrial development, exchanges and mutual learning. Liang Liang said that he hopes that the outside world can look at this competition with tolerance and encouragement, and humanoid robots are born to serve human beings, and their small step will be a big step in the development of human science and technology.

(According to Xinhua News Agency reporters Guo Yujing, Zhang Xiao, Li Chunyu)