The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, supported by the Chinese government, gained national attention after its robot won China’s first humanoid robot half marathon. Following this victory, the center aims to establish a platform for AI-powered robots, similar to how Google’s Android operates for smartphones, to lead in the robotics industry.
As per the reports, last month, the firm ran its Tien Kung Ultra robot, which won first place in a humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing’s Yizhuang district. The robot, standing 180cm tall and weighing 55kg, finished the 21km race in about 2 hours and 40 minutes, as reported by the center.
To showcase the platform’s capabilities, UBTech, a partner of X-Humanoid, released Tien Kung Xingzhe, a human-sized research robot priced at about US$41,000 (299,000 yuan). The release came after the April 2024 launch of the Tien Kung “core platform,” a foundational technology for humanoid robots.
In November 2024, X-Humanoid made the Tien Kung technologies open-source, meaning they shared the designs and software freely. Xiong Youjun, the center’s general manager, said this move aims to boost China’s humanoid robot industry and help the country lead in the global robotics race.
China’s robotics industry is growing fast due to improvements in AI technology. In the recent half-marathon for humanoid robots in Beijing, a 1.2-meter-tall robot from Noetix Robotics (based in Beijing) came in second, and a robot from DroidUp (based in Shanghai) took third place.
A robot from Unitree, a well-known robotics startup from Hangzhou, fell during the race but got back up to continue. However, its final position wasn’t reported. Unitree clarified that it didn’t officially enter the race; the robots seen were operated by their clients, not the company itself. A Unitree spokesperson said that a robot’s performance in such a race depends on preparation and the operator’s skills.
Further, China’s DeepSeek is also developing a “self-improving” or “self-learning” AI model that will not need human assistance anymore. It will learn and update itself. Additionally, Chinese researchers in Hefei are using a real quantum computer, called Origin Wukong, to improve a huge AI model with 1 billion parameters.
Also Read: After DeepSeek, China now plans quantum push in AI
