Beijing Yizhuang is about to host a humanoid robot half marathon on April 19, and the pre-event test footage has netizens laughing out loud. The reason? Footage released officially and by private individuals paints two entirely different 'realities'.
In the late-night full-process rehearsal on April 11, Chinese state media People's Daily published related reports and videos showing multiple humanoid robots running smoothly and striding steadily, described as 'walking like the wind', showcasing a positive image of technological progress.
However, raw footage shot and circulated by on-site spectators revealed a series of 'fail' moments: some robots suddenly lost balance and fell during their run, some stalled or stopped in place, while others appeared to have system malfunctions, spasming or running into walls. There were even scenes of parts exploding with sparks. Netizens laughed and joked, calling it 'far ahead', and referring to it as the legendary 'press-conference version versus real-machine version'.
This year's event is much larger in scale than last year, with teams from over 76 countries and regions participating. According to organizers, the race will be divided into two categories—remotely controlled and autonomously navigated—and they emphasize that related testing and optimization are still ongoing.