Honor's humanoid robot wins Beijing marathon as Chinese tech firms accelerate robotics development

Honor, the smartphone company that separated from Huawei in 2020, secured an unexpected victory at the second Beijing humanoid half-marathon on Sunday, outperforming established robotics competitors like Unitree and X-Humanoid. The company only entered the robotics sector last year after previously focusing on smartphones and wearables. According to Du, Honor's chief executive, the winning model will be deployed across the company's offline retail shops to assist with smartphone sales and enhance retail efficiency. Meanwhile, Amap has introduced Tutu, a quadruped robot capable of autonomous navigation in open fields. These developments occur as Beijing actively promotes robotics as a key growth driver for the Chinese economy, with tech giants showcasing advancements ranging from marathon-winning humanoids to potential robot guide dogs. The sector is experiencing rapid expansion, with firms demonstrating various technological breakthroughs.