Comparisons between human and robot running times have drawn mixed reactions, with one social media user remarking that a car can also outrun a cheetah. Despite this, the winning time marks a major improvement from last year’s race, when the fastest robot completed the course in two hours and 40 minutes.

According to the Associated Press, this year’s winning robot was built by Honor. However, it was not the fastest machine overall, as another robot by the same company recorded a time of 48 minutes and 19 seconds. That robot, however, was remotely controlled, while the official winner operated autonomously and secured victory based on weighted scoring.

Data from Beijing E-Town showed that around 40 per cent of participating robots competed autonomously, while the remaining 60 per cent were remotely controlled. Not all entries performed smoothly, with one robot falling at the starting line and another colliding with a barrier during the race.