The world's first humanoid robot marathon will kick off in the first half of this year in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town).

More than 12,000 half-marathon runners and over 20 national humanoid robot company teams are set to compete in the half-marathon.

Covering a distance of 21.1 kilometers, they will measure the beauty of technology, ecology, and humanities in Beijing E-Town with their footsteps, experiencing the new trend of "technology + sports" in the E-Town area.

"Tiangong" robots run with athletes.

Global robot companies, research institutions, robot clubs, universities and other innovative entities are set to send their robots to run in the half-marathon. Competing robots must have a humanoid appearance and mechanical structure capable of bipedal walking or running movements.

A "Tiangong" robot sprints to the finish line alongside participants in the 2024 Beijing E-Town Half Marathon.

As an important hub for the robotics industry in the Chinese capital, Beijing E-Town has more than 140 robotics ecosystem companies, with a total output value of nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.37 billion), accounting for about 50 percent of the city's total. It has established a comprehensive robotics industry chain covering core components, complete machines and applications.

Moving forward, Beijing E-Town will focus on advancing cutting-edge embodied artificial intelligence technologies, industrializing high-end humanoid products, and fostering a top-tier innovation ecosystem. It has worked out plans include introducing special support measures for robotics, further optimizing and upgrading industrial spaces, enhancing the development of public service platforms for testing, inspection, and flexible manufacturing, and exerting full efforts to drive innovation and development in the humanoid robotics industry.