Robots Run a Half-Marathon and Things Go Wrong
patch things up: to fix a thing or a relationship that is broken or not working properly
At a recent half-marathon in Beijing, the spotlight wasn’t on the 12,000 human runners. It was on 21 humanoid robots running the same 13.1-mile course. The event was a first in the history of robotics.
Only six robots finished the race. The others quit early because of overheating, balance issues, or complete shutdowns. One robot, Shennong, spun in circles, crashed into a wall, and pulled its human handlers down with it.
Tiangong Ultra was the only robot to finish fast enough to qualify for a human participation award. Its team had to swap batteries three times and help it recover from a fall. One robot struggled even more—its head kept falling off. The team used duct tape to patch things up and get it back in the race.
The event showed that humanoid robot design still has a long way to go.
Sample sentences
After their fight, Maria and her sister didn’t talk for a week. Then they sat down to patch things up.
We had some problems with the project, but our team worked together to patch things up before the deadline.
The tent had a hole from last summer. Before the camping trip, we patched it up so it wouldn’t leak.
Read More:
Stumbling and Overheating, Most Humanoid Robots Fail to Finish Half-Marathon in Beijing