Eren Chen@ErenChenAI
The 2nd Robot Marathon has officially begun in Beijing.
This year feels different.
1. Around 40% of teams are running fully autonomous, no remote control.
2. Top robots are already hitting ~10s per 100 meter, getting surprisingly close to human sprint limits.
3. You can also see much better safety design upfront. Way more structured than last year’s chaos.
4. Still, failures happen. Marathon distance pushes motors, structure, and control to the limit. What works in short demos breaks down over longer runs.
Overall, a big step forward, but also a reminder that real-world robotics is still far from the polished demo videos you get fed from companies.
