Four-legged robot debuts as pacesetter in international marathon race

B2, a four-legged robot, makes its debut as an official assistant at the 2024 Hangzhou Marathon on November 3, 2024. (Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television)

A four-legged robot recently made its debut as a marathon pacesetter at an international tournament in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, capturing public attention and curiosity, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Monday.

A total of two four-legged robots and one humanoid robot were showcased during the 2024 Hangzhou Marathon on Sunday, which is one of the longest-established running events in China, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

One of the two quadruped robots, B2, took on the role of pacesetter for the final stage of the half marathon, while the other one, Go2, ran alongside the participants in the race, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based civilian robotics company presenting these unveiled robots.

B2 has exceptional endurance and load capacity, an employee from Unitree said. It features a combined operating range of up to 4-6 hours, a sustained walking load of 40-50 kilograms, and a maximum standing load capacity of 120 kilograms. To ensure that B2 could perform its duties safely and successfully, tech assistants had conducted nearly 10 on-road tests before the race, said the company, examining human interference, obstacle avoidance, and hill-climbing ability across the half marathon route.

The four-legged Go2 robot looks like a rabbit and is capable of performing actions such as making a hand heart, shaking hands, and performing backflips and handstands. It can also run while playing music, delivering cheering messages and safety tips, providing runners with packed motivation and emotional value, and encouraging more runners to finish the race.

Many netizens commented that these robots deliver lots of emotional value. A father who attended the race with his child said that the robots brought fun to the track, "(without the robots) children would have become bored and restless. My child enjoyed watching the robots," he said, as reported by CCTV.

"I followed the B2 for the entire race, and it is quite high-tech," a participant named Liu Chang, who participated specifically in the advanced robot, told the CCTV.

In addition to the four-legged robots, a humanoid robot was also showcased in this marathon. It is equipped with interactive functions such as waving, handshaking, and posing, congratulating the participants on their victories by making broadcasts, the Global Times learned from Unitree.