BEIJING, China (AFP) — Step by mechanical step, dozens of humanoid robots took to the streets of Beijing early Saturday, joining thousands of their flesh-and-blood counterparts in a world-first half marathon showcasing China’s drive to lead the global race in cutting-edge technology.

The 21-kilometer event held in the Chinese capital’s E-Town — a state-backed hub for high-tech manufacturing — is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions.

At the crack of the starter’s gun, and as a Chinese pop song “I Believe” blared out from loudspeakers on repeat, the robots queued up one by one and took their first tentative steps.

Curious human runners lined up on their side of the road and waited patiently with mobile phones at the ready to shoot each machine as they prepared to depart.

One smaller-sized android, which fell over and lay on the ground for several minutes, got up by itself to loud cheers.

Another, powered by propellers and designed to look like a Transformer, veered across the starting line before crashing into a barrier and knocking over an engineer.

“Getting onto the race track might seem like a small step for humans, but it’s a giant leap for humanoid robots,” Liang Liang, Beijing E-Town management committee deputy director, told AFP before the event. Nearby, engineers jogged alongside their machines.

“The marathon helps push humanoid robots one step closer toward industrialization.”

Around 20 teams from across China are taking part in the competition — with robots ranging from 75 to 180 centimeters tall and weighing up to 88 kilograms.

Some are running autonomously, while others are guided remotely by engineers, with machines and humans running on separate tracks.

Engineers told AFP the goal was to test the performance and reliability of the androids — emphasizing that finishing the race, not winning it, was the main objective.

“I think it’s a big boost for the entire robotics industry,” Cui Wenhao, a 28-year-old engineer at Noetix Robotics, said of the half-marathon.

“Honestly, there are very few opportunities for the whole industry to run at full speed over such a long distance or duration. It’s a serious test for the battery, the motors, the structure — even the algorithms.”