ADEEL HASSAN2026年4月20日周日，身高1.65米的人形机器人“闪电”在北京的一场半程马拉松比赛中亮相，约0.9米长的双腿大步向前迈进。 Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesIt didn’t have to carbo-load, get a good night’s rest or lace up running shoes.它无需补充碳水、无需保证睡眠，也不用系紧跑鞋鞋带。Instead, the toughest challenge for the bright-red humanoid robot named Lightning was avoiding a collision with the more than 300 other robots running in a half-marathon race on Sunday in Beijing.对于这台名为“闪电”的鲜红色人形机器人来说，周日在北京参加半程马拉松比赛时最严峻的挑战是避开一同参赛的300多台机器人。While the approximately 5-foot-5 Lightning crashed into a barricade and fell during its final stretch, it was able to pick itself back up with help from humans, swing its short forearms to rebalance, and stride across the finish line in 50 minutes, 26 seconds, according to the state-run China Daily.据官方媒体《中国日报》报道，身高约1.65米的“闪电”在最后冲刺阶段撞上护栏摔倒，但在人类协助下重新站起，摆动短小的前臂恢复平衡，最终以50分26秒的成绩冲过终点线。Lightning’s time was faster than the human world-record holder, Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, who finished a half-marathon in 57 minutes, 20 seconds last month in Lisbon.“闪电”的成绩快于人类半马世界纪录保持者、乌干达选手雅各布·基普利莫，他上月在里斯本以57分20秒完赛。It was also faster than the 12,000 humans running the race in a separate, parallel lane. The men’s and women’s winners needed more than an hour to complete the outdoor course.它的速度也超过了在另一条平行赛道参赛的1.2万名人类跑者。本次赛事男女组冠军完成这条户外赛道都耗时超过一小时。Lightning was designed by the Chinese smartphone brand Honor, and is based on elite human athletes, with legs that are about three feet long.“闪电”由中国智能手机品牌荣耀研发，设计参照顶尖人类运动员，腿部长度约0.9米。Lighting’s joints are equipped with a liquid-cooling system adapted from consumer electronics, like smartphones, one of Honor’s engineers told state media.荣耀一名工程师向官方媒体介绍，“闪电”的关节搭载了源自智能手机等消费电子产品的液冷系统。In this year’s race, many of the robots, like Lightning, ran autonomously, though slightly more than half were operated by remote control.在今年的比赛中，包括“闪电”在内的多台机器人均实现了自主奔跑，不过略超半数的机器人仍由遥控操作。In the inaugural race last year, the top robot took nearly three times as long as Lightning, finishing in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds, according to the state-run Global Times.据官方媒体《环球时报》报道，在去年首届赛事中，成绩最好的机器人耗时2小时40分42秒，几乎是“闪电”用时的三倍。While the robots were faster and more autonomous this year, Alan Fern, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, said the results said more about the state of robot hardware manufacturing in China than about any major scientific breakthrough.尽管今年机器人速度更快、自主化程度更高，但俄勒冈州立大学机器人学教授艾伦·费恩表示，这一成果更多体现的是中国机器人硬件制造的水平，而非重大科学突破。“What appears to have changed this year is that some of China’s many humanoid companies have invested the engineering effort needed to make these systems robust enough for a long-duration race,” he said on Sunday. “That is genuinely impressive.”“今年明显的变化是，中国众多人形机器人企业中有一部分投入了必要的工程研发，让这些系统具备足够稳定性，能够完成长距离赛事，”他在周日表示。“这确实令人印象深刻。”While it’s not evidence of a major advancement in artificial intelligence, he said it reflected the robust robotics manufacturing ecosystem in China. The United States has far fewer humanoid companies and very few operating at a large manufacturing scale, he said.他指出，这虽不能证明人工智能实现重大飞跃，却反映出中国强大的机器人制造生态。他表示，美国的人形机器人企业数量远少于中国，实现大规模量产的更是寥寥无几。At the same time, China has been pushing to make rapid advancements in robotics, propelled by government directives and significant investments.而在政策引导与巨额投资推动下，中国正大力推动机器人技术快速发展。There are already more robots at work in China than the rest of the world combined, according to the International Federation of Robotics, a nonprofit trade group for makers of industrial robots.据工业机器人制造商的非营利行业组织国际机器人联合会统计，中国在役机器人数量已超过全球其他国家的总和。Last year, Beijing hosted the world’s first Humanoid Robot Games, which featured running, kickboxing and soccer. The competition showcased many advancements and featured plenty of running, kicking and punching.去年，北京举办了全球首届人形机器人运动会，设置跑步、跆拳道、足球等项目，集中展示了多项技术进步，机器人奔跑、踢腿、出拳等动作均有亮眼表现。比赛结束后，媒体记者蜂拥而至，簇拥着这台获胜的机器人及其设计团队，这台机器人由中国智能手机制造商荣耀的团队研发。But the robots also flailed around, crashed and fell over many times.但比赛中机器人也频繁出现肢体乱晃、碰撞、摔倒等状况。The city of Beijing called Sunday’s race “a major step forward for the robotics industry — accelerating the transition of humanoid robots from lab to large-scale, real-world application.”北京市称，周日的这场比赛“标志着中国人形机器人产业从技术验证迈向高水平应用发展的重要一步”。But Professor Fern said he was not sure about the practical application of a robot marathoner.但费恩表示，他对机器人马拉松选手的实际应用价值持保留态度。“A robot winning a half-marathon may attract attention and impress a few investors, but the harder question is how that capability translates into productivity and, ultimately, profitability,” he said. “That is much less obvious.”“一台赢得半马比赛的机器人或许能吸引眼球、打动部分投资者，但更关键的问题是，这种能力如何转化为生产力，并最终实现盈利，”他说。“这一点远没有那么清晰。”Adeel Hassan是时报驻纽约记者，报道突发新闻和其他话题。翻译：晋其角点击查看本文英文版。