Humanoid robot beats human half-marathon world record in Beijing

World Humanoid robot beats human half-marathon world record in Beijing By Simon Ellery April 20, 2026 / 10:41 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A humanoid robot aptly named Lightning made history on the streets of Beijing over the weekend, beating the human half-marathon world record by several minutes.Dozens of robots lined up for the Beijing E-Town Robot Half Marathon on Sunday, tackling the 13-mile (21-kilometer) race separate from human runners.Developed by Chinese smartphone company Honor, Lightning completed the half-marathon in just over 50 minutes, besting the human world record for the distance of over 57 minutes. A Lightning humanoid robot by Honor crosses the finish line of the second Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing, China, April 19, 2026. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov Lightning's creators were delighted with the result. Du Xiaodi, a development engineer at Honor, was quick to draw comparisons with other industries."Looking ahead, some of these technologies might be transferred to other areas," said Du. "It's similar to how the automotive industry initially developed through competitions."The event tested robots in real-world conditions, from balance and endurance to navigation. Some ran autonomously, while others were controlled remotely, all competing on a parallel course to avoid collisions with human athletes.It wasn't flawless. A few robots stumbled or veered off course. But the progress was striking compared to last year, when most struggled to even finish the race. Runners participating in the second Beijing E-Town Half Marathon take pictures of the Tiangong Ultra 2026 humanoid robot participating in the Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in Beijing, China, April 19, 2026. Reuters/Tingshu Wang Some spectators weren't worried by the failures. "I'm very excited," said Sun Zhigang. "First of all, it's the first time robots have surpassed humans, and that's something I never imagined.""Their performance is quite impre...