On April 19, 2025, the world's first humanoid robot half marathon was successfully held in Beijing E-Town. On this competitive stage gathering top scientific and technological forces, the "0306 Little Giant" robot, developed by the Robot Design and Innovation Team of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Beijing Polytechnic University, competed alongside robots from renowned universities such as Tsinghua University and leading enterprises in the industry. Its outstanding performance demonstrated the innovative strength of vocational education.
44 Days of Extreme R&D: A Race Against Time for Technology
As the world's first event of its kind, the robot half marathon posed challenges with no prior examples to follow. Since receiving the competition task on March 6, building on previous work, the Robot Design and Innovation Team quickly assembled 7 teachers and 4 students to develop the "0306 Little Giant" robot. When the task was first assigned, team members were under significant pressure. Although they had previous experience in robot competitions, the products they developed were mainly wheeled robots. Compared with wheeled robots, humanoid robots are much more difficult to develop and have higher technical requirements. To overcome various challenges, under the dual pressure of teaching tasks and the important competition responsibility, the team launched an intensive work mode—"day and night" and "all week long"—turning the laboratory into a "perpetually lit beacon." They optimized algorithms late at night, debugged bionic mechanical structures during the Qingming Festival holiday, and participated in road test rehearsal qualifiers deep into weekday nights. Teachers and students discussed plans between classes, held impromptu meetings at canteen tables, and even stayed overnight in the laboratory to complete relevant tests. In just over a month, the team successfully integrated multiple functions such as voice interaction, dynamic walking, and anti-interference control, making the "0306 Little Giant" an all-around contender ("polygonal warrior") on the field.
Interdisciplinary Integration: A Practical Exercise in Cross-Border Collaboration
Centered on the "0306 Little Giant" project, the Robot Design and Innovation Team brought together teachers and students from majors including mechatronics, mechanical manufacturing and automation, industrial internet, and art design. Teachers from the mechatronics technology major led the development of motion control algorithms; those from mechanical manufacturing and automation were responsible for lightweight structure design; teachers from the industrial internet application major developed the remote operation and maintenance system, human-computer interaction interface design, and integrated artificial intelligence technology modules; and teachers from the fashion design major of the School of Art and Design created multiple sets of "battle suits" for the robot that combined functionality with a sense of technology. Among the 11-member team, there were also 4 post-2000s "on-site engineers"—outstanding students selected from the robot club, who assisted in the robot's R&D. The team broke down the project into multiple parallel and interrelated subtasks, assigning them accurately to members with respective expertise to ensure "professional people do professional work," and advanced the project goals with a "small, fast steps" strategy. In addition to interdisciplinary integration, the R&D of the "0306 Little Giant" also benefited from the newly established Robot and Intelligent Manufacturing Industry College. With the support of Beijing E-Town Robot Technology Industry Development Co., Ltd.—a partner of the Industry College—the university and enterprise jointly conducted research and development on the stability and anti-interference ability of the competing robot, and worked together to tackle technical challenges, forming a vivid practice of "integration of industry and education, and cooperation between universities and enterprises."
A Small Body Carrying a Big Dream: A Breakthrough in Technological Innovation
Humanoid robot running relies on mechanical structures and algorithm control. While running, the robot needs to quickly switch between "double support" and "single support" phases, overcome the short air phase, and adjust its center of gravity in real time during dynamic movement—all of which place extremely high demands on balance control. At the same time, battery life and complex outdoor natural conditions pose great challenges to the robot's operation. There are 5 "0306 Little Giant" robots, each 75 cm tall and weighing 10 kg, making them the smallest contestants in the competition. Despite their small size, they integrate multiple technological breakthroughs: Adoption of rigid-flexible coupled joint technology, enabling human-like movement with a large angle range of 180°; Equipped with a bionic body structure system that allows flexible head rotation, natural arm swinging, and stable bipedal walking; Integration of voice recognition and auditory perception modules through multi-sensor fusion environment modeling technology, enabling human-computer interaction within a 10-meter range; Realization of human-like stable walking through a full-body coordination control system based on reinforcement learning and multi-modal fusion. Furthermore, supported by the anti-interference technology of Model Predictive Control (MPC), the "0306 Little Giant" can predict future states through the system model, allowing the robot to maintain stable walking even when subjected to external interference or impact. These innovative technologies not only laid the foundation for the half marathon competition but also provided important references for the R&D of service robots in the future.
United in Overcoming Challenges: An Indomitable Team
"Hello, my name is Beijing Polytechnic University's '0306 Little Giant,' and I come from the Robot Design and Innovation Team of the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Beijing Polytechnic University." At the road test rehearsal qualifiers on April 9, the "0306 Little Giant" won everyone's affection as soon as it appeared, with people picking up their mobile phones to take photos with it. The rehearsal that day continued until the early hours of the morning. Team members followed the robot up slopes, down slopes, as it ran and turned, holding flashlights to carefully observe its parameter indicators and check and debug its performance. "Several teachers in the team live far away and still have classes the next day—some even have four classes. But we all remained full of passion and successfully completed the rehearsal qualifiers. This has been our state and rhythm all this time," said Teacher Zhang Lili, a team member. "What I find most touching is that our team works together with clear division of labor, and no one ever argues about who does more or less," said Teacher Cheng Xuemei, another team member, emotionally. "Teacher Qiu Zhaopeng has been in overall charge of the robot system, devoting a lot of energy to repeatedly refining the circuit module development and programming control. Teacher Wang Peidong has been promoting algorithm optimization. When modifications to the mechanical structure were needed during the design process, Teachers Liu Shuai and Zhang Enhua immediately optimized the model and processed parts, then conducted tests and debugging together with Teacher Qiu. Teachers such as Ma Shuyan from the School of Art also showed strong execution and pursuit of excellence, creating 6 sets of costumes tailored for the '0306 Little Giant' in a short time—including 'Teletubbies,' 'Astronaut,' 'Nezha,' and 'God of Wealth' styles. It is through constant adjustments, tests, re-adjustments, and re-tests that the '0306 Little Giant' has made progress bit by bit. At the same time, we are very grateful to the school and college leaders for their guidance and support to our team."
"The robot is named '0306 Little Giant,' which expresses our expectations for the future," the Robot Design and Innovation Team stated. "We have formulated a clear growth roadmap for its future development: 2025: Register to run, height ≥ 75 cm, distance ≥ 6 km; 2026: Run smoothly, height ≥ 120 cm, distance ≥ 12 km; 2027: Run farther, height ≥ 140 cm, distance ≥ 20 km; 2030: Run brilliantly, height ≥ 160 cm, distance ≥ 22 km." "Robot technology is the integration of intelligent manufacturing and artificial intelligence technology. Taking the opportunity of establishing vocational undergraduate majors, we will rely on the Robot and Intelligent Manufacturing Industry College to further focus on key technological fields such as core robot algorithms, intelligent manufacturing system integration, flexible robot control, servo motors, and reducers, helping Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone (BDA) become a national-level robot industry highland. We welcome students to choose Beijing Polytechnic University—this means you will stand at the forefront of the upgrading of the intelligent manufacturing industry: here, there are professional clusters that align with BDA's 'robot industry highland'; there are practical opportunities to participate in world-first events such as the 'humanoid robot half marathon'; and more importantly, there is a complete technology transformation chain from 'laboratory R&D' to 'industrial application.'"
In the future, Beijing Polytechnic University will accelerate the layout of vocational undergraduate majors that conform to the development of future industries and meet the needs of new productive forces. It will build a large number of "champion majors" and "track champions" that closely align with the needs of Beijing's high-end, precision, and advanced industries, megacity operation and management, and high-quality people's livelihood fields. This will open the door to the field of new productive forces for every student and provide strong talent support and intellectual backing for Beijing's economic and social development.
Location:
Dynamics