Robovie-PC (HHT)

Long before full-size humanoids lined up in Beijing, the first robot marathon was run in Osaka. Starting on 24 February 2011 in the ATC hall, five miniature robots set off on 422 laps of 100 m, the full 42.195 km; after 54 hours, 57 minutes and 50.26 seconds the Robovie-PC HHT built by Japan's Vstone crossed the line first, roughly one second ahead of the runner-up.

The average pace of the whole field was 0.77 km/h. The machine is only 39 cm tall (sources give 38-39 cm), weighs 2.2 kg, measures 22.5 by 11.5 cm and moves on 20 joints, six per leg, three per arm and two in the head, using VS-SV281J servos; the HHT (Half High Torque) version carries stronger servos in the legs.

An Intel Atom Z530 at 1.6 GHz running an x86 operating system, backed by a VS-RC003HV sub-controller, and a 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera in the head allowed it to follow the track line autonomously for more than two days. It cost 399,000 yen in 2009 (about 4,500 USD); Vstone's site lists 598,500 yen for the HHT and 745,500 yen for the FHT, sold in Japan only. Production has ended.

Set against the Tiangong Ultra and its 2:40:42 half marathon, the Robovie-PC was more than twenty times slower, but it covered twice the distance with no human guidance at all.