Marathon of innovation has no finish line: China Daily editorial

The half-marathon in Beijing's E-Town economic and technological development zone on Sunday showcased a leap in the capabilities of Chinese-made humanoid robots.

The winner of the race, autonomous-navigation robot "Lightning", developed by Honor, completed the race in an impressive 50 minutes and 26 seconds, despite a minor mishap near the finish line, surpassing the human world record.

"Lightning" incorporates Honor's proprietary integrated joint modules, delivering a peak torque of 400 Nm. Its liquid-cooling system features cooling channels that penetrate deep into the motor's interior like capillaries to dissipate heat, while a high-power liquid pump generates a heat-exchange flow exceeding 4 liters per minute. This design effectively resolves the thermal management challenges associated with high-load operation.

The event's evolution from its inaugural edition, which focused on technical feasibility, to this year's emphasis on capabilities, is a testament to China's rapid technological development.

In contrast to last year's race, when navigation required remote control, many humanoid robot competitors this year are competing with fully autonomous navigation. Teams that have "discarded the remote control" now make up 40 percent of the field — demonstrating their ability to perform localization, obstacle avoidance and path planning. This marks a big improvement in their autonomous operation capabilities.

Beyond the track, there is a layer of invisible infrastructure that allowed the competing robots to run with greater ease and precision. Qianxun SI, leveraging the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, provided centimeter-level high-precision positioning for over two-thirds of the autonomous navigation teams. Meanwhile, the telecommunication service providers deployed a three-dimensional event network based on 5G-Advanced infrastructure and 5G "smart slicing" technology, delivering millisecond-level response times and a communication environment with near-zero lag. This forward-looking new infrastructure is precisely what made the humanoid robot half-marathon a reality.

These improvements are a reflection of the broader progress in China's robotics industry. The shift from isolated breakthroughs to testing comprehensive capabilities underscores the sector's transition from theoretical possibility to practical application.

In terms of industry scale, data released by the international research firm Omdia show that global shipments of humanoid robots reached 13,000 units in 2025, with China accounting for 90 percent of the total. Chinese companies swept the top six spots on the shipment rankings.

This rapid scaling has been driven not only by cost and pricing advantages but also by the comprehensive strengths forged through a robust supply chain and supporting capabilities. Not long ago, industry insiders estimated that the cost of custom-developing a humanoid robot in Shenzhen could be as low as 2 million yuan ($282,000). Supported by the availability of core components and comprehensive engineering capabilities, the barriers to innovation in humanoid robotics continue to fall.

Over the past two years, domestic humanoid robots in China have achieved substantial progress in both foundational software — such as vision-language-action models and embodied world models — and core hardware, including frameless torque motors and harmonic reducers. Through continual innovation, many teams have developed unique strengths and carved out their own positions in the competitive market.

That said, the remarkable performance of humanoid robots is inseparable from China's vast "innovation laboratory". And in an increasing number of factories, humanoid robots are tightening screws and moving materials, becoming an indispensable part of a new human-robot collaborative manufacturing model.

On a broader scale, government departments at various levels have introduced strong policy support and well-crafted initiatives — such as building open-source communities for humanoid robots, releasing dataset standards, establishing government investment funds, and publishing application scenario catalogs. These measures have enabled China's humanoid robotics industry to rapidly transition from technical validation to real-world deployment.

The marathon of innovation has no finish line. The defining feature of the humanoid robot half-marathon is the principle of promoting research, industry, and application through competition. The focus has shifted from "whether they can finish the race" to "how fast they can run" — and the pace of technological progress is even more thrilling than the race itself. By staying committed to independent innovation, strengthening self-reliance, and leveraging the advantages of a vast market and diverse application scenarios, China is poised to achieve even better results in this innovation marathon.