The chances of you competing against a robot at your next marathon are slim–but increasing each week. At Sunday’s 22nd Sangju Marathon in the North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, RAIBO 2 the four-legged robot made history as the first quadruped robot to complete a marathon, clocking 4:19:52 on a single battery charge.
| A four-legged robot finishes a marathon |
RAIBO 2, developed by a research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST, @kaistpr), has become the first four-legged robot in the world to finish a full marathon.
The team, led by Professor Hwangbo Je-min,… pic.twitter.com/zn5WF97jCN
— Korea Strategy Partners (@KoreaPartners) November 18, 2024
RAIBO 2 was developed by a research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea. According to The Korea Times, the team, led by Professor Hwangbo Je-min and PhD student Lee Choong-in, designed the robot with innovative technology that improves energy efficiency, even allowing the machine to recharge while descending hills. The previous record for longest walking distance completed by a quadruped robot was only 20 km due to high energy demands limiting battery life.
KAIST’s 4-legged robot becomes 1st in the world to finish full marathonhttps://t.co/fmVEyhWM7Q
— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) November 18, 2024
The marathon course had two 50-m climbs; to ensure the robot could navigate the various terrains and obstacles, the team of researchers trained it in a simulated environment to mimic icy roads, slopes and stairs.
A video uploaded YouTube shows the entire four-hour race. At both the halfway point and just past the three-hour mark, the robot collapsed into the road; the research team, running alongside it, appeared to make some adjustments before the robot could continue running. “During an operator change at the turning point, the emergency stop button on the controller was accidentally triggered due to rushing,” Lee explained in a comment under the video. “Fortunately, there was no issue, so we were able to restart and depart right away.”
“With the marathon project, we demonstrated that RAIBO 2 possesses walking capabilities stable enough to perform services like delivery and patrol in urban environments,” Lee told media. This milestone marks progress toward broader use of quadruped robots in roles of surveillance and operations in mountainous and disaster environments.
RAIBO 2’s marathon debut reflects the increasing prevalence of robots at marathon events. In early November, Tiangong the Humanoid Robot made an appearance at the Yizhuang Half Marathon in Beijing to cheer on participants. Meanwhile, at the Hangzhou Marathon in Hangzhou, China, two quadruped robots acted as official pacesetters and cheerleaders while running alongside participants.
