北京半马：机器人也来跑步

Speaking of running, let me tell you about a very special race.

Have you ever run before?

Running is very tiring.

Running just a hundred meters is already tiring.

What about running twenty-one kilometers?

Twenty-one kilometers!

That is very very far.

This is called a "half marathon."

Half means one half.

A marathon is a very long running race.

The full distance is forty-two kilometers.

A half marathon is twenty-one kilometers.

Many people run half marathons.

It takes one to two hours.

Some people run very fast.

The fastest person in the world running a half marathon.

How much time did they use?

Fifty-seven minutes.

Fifty-seven minutes for twenty-one kilometers.

Very fast.

This person is called Kiplimo.

He is from Africa.

He holds the world record.

Nobody is faster than him.

But.

Yesterday.

In Beijing, China.

There was a new race.

This race wasn't just for people.

Robots also ran.

Yes.

Robots.

Robots are machines that look like people.

They have a head.

They have hands.

They have feet.

They can walk.

They can run.

There was one robot called "Lightning."

What is lightning?

Lightning is the flash of light when thunder comes.

Very fast.

Extremely fast.

This robot is also very fast.

It is red.

How tall?

One meter sixty-nine.

About the same height as an ordinary person.

Who made it?

A Chinese company made it.

This company is called Honor.

Honor is a company that makes phones.

Yes, makes phones.

But it also makes robots.

This robot used a technology from phones.

Called "liquid cooling."

Liquid cooling means using liquid to keep the machine cool.

Just like when your computer gets too hot and needs to cool down.

The race started.

Robots and people ran separately.

Not together.

Because they were afraid of collisions.

Robots on one track.

People on another track.

Then Lightning started running.

Running and running.

Ran twenty-one kilometers.

How much time did it use?

Fifty minutes and twenty-six seconds.

Fifty minutes!

About seven minutes faster than the human world record.

Seven minutes.

That is a lot.

Even the fastest person lost.

Lost to a robot.

But not all robots ran well.

Over three hundred robots participated.

Some ran very well.

Some not so well.

One robot had just started running.

After about sixty meters.

It fell down.

Fell face-first.

Fell on the ground.

Then what happened?

The technicians ran over.

Used packing tape to stick it back together.

Packing tape is that sticky tape for taping things.

Then this robot kept running.

Ran the whole race held together with tape.

So funny.

There was also another robot.

It ran to the finish line.

Crossed the finish line.

Then it didn't know how to stop.

It ran straight into the bushes nearby.

Fell into a bush.

Also very funny.

There was also a very small robot.

Only sixty centimeters tall.

Like a small child.

It's called "Xiao Pai."

When it ran it was holding a baby bottle.

A baby bottle!

The kind babies drink milk from.

It ran while bouncing up and down.

Very cute.

This race is in its second year.

Last year was the first time.

Last year the fastest robot took how long?

Two hours and forty minutes.

This year?

Fifty minutes.

From two hours forty minutes to fifty minutes.

In one year.

Three times faster.

This improvement is too big.

China now has over a hundred and fifty robot-making companies.

Over a hundred and fifty.

The government is also supporting them.

Giving money and technology.

Maybe one day.

Robots won't just run.

They'll do many other things.

Help you carry stuff.

Help you deliver packages.

Help you clean rooms.

That day might not be far away.

But right now.

The most important thing is.

Yesterday a robot.

Ran a half marathon in fifty minutes.

Faster than any person.

And another robot fell down and finished the race held together with tape.

This is the world of 2026.

Robots are running.

Some run very fast.

Some fell down.

Some ran into the bushes.

And one was holding a baby bottle.