World News for Students of English

25-04-2025 15:00

In Beijing, 21 humanoid robots ran in a half-marathon alongside human athletes for the first time. The event took place on April 19, 2025, at the Yizhuang half-marathon.

The robots came from companies like DroidVP and Noetix Robotics, and they had various shapes and sizes. Some were as short as 120 cm, while others were up to 1.8 meters tall. One robot had a human-like appearance, even smiling and winking. Spectators watched with excitement as the machines raced with human support.

The winning robot, Tiangong Ultra, finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes. It belonged to a center partly owned by Chinese tech companies. Engineers said it performed well because of its design and an algorithm that copied how humans run. Some robots faced problems during the race, falling over or going off-track.

This event was more than a show. Chinese experts said it tested robot abilities and showed progress in robotics. Still, some international experts questioned how useful such races are for real-world tasks.

Difficult words: wink (to close and open one eye quickly), algorithm (a set of rules a computer follows), question (to express doubt).

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