Robots compete in Beijing half marathon

Beijing hosted a half marathon Saturday that included 21 humanoid robot runners — but only six managed to finish the race.

The fastest android completed the 13.1 mile track in two hours and 40 minutes, but it had to get its batteries changed three times and fell over once.

Others overheated and stumbled; one literally lost its head. The bots’ poor performance reflects a “hardware robustness problem,” a robotics professor told Wired.

Most humanoid robots are designed to complete specific tasks, not to run fast. Still, the display shows how China views robots as practical, he added: “I would expect to see China shifting this year to [making robots] focusing more on doing useful things.”