A Chinese humanoid robot has entered the Guinness World Records after completing a walk of more than 100 km in three days — the longest distance ever recorded for a machine of its kind.
The AgiBot A2, which stands 169 centimeters tall, departed from the city of Suzhou on the night of November 10, walking along highways and city streets before reaching the historic Bund waterfront in Shanghai on November 13, according to Guinness World Records.
Shanghai-based company AgiBot explained that the robot “navigated across varied terrain (…) while observing traffic regulations” over a total distance of 106.286 kilometers.
The company released videos showing the silver-and-black A2 walking with some stiffness along a road beside cyclists and scooters, later picking up speed as it continued along Shanghai’s iconic waterfront promenade.
According to AgiBot, the A2 model is designed for customer-service tasks and is equipped with a chat function. It is also capable of lip-reading.
Major tech companies are investing heavily in physical artificial intelligence, and according to Morgan Stanley, the world could have more than one billion humanoid robots by 2050.
The Chinese government is encouraging companies to develop humanoids, and in August, Beijing hosted the world’s first “robot games,” featuring more than 500 robotic “athletes” competing in events such as basketball and cleaning.