4-legged Korean robot runs full marathon on single charge
In the world of legged robotics, endurance has long been the ultimate hurdle. While four-legged machines can backflip, negotiate rubble and scale staircases with uncanny agility, their high-performance motors typically drain battery reserves in less than an hour. But along the rural stretches of North Gyeongsang Province, a dog-like machine spent over four hours trotting past orchards and cheering spectators to rewrite the limits of mechanical stamina. Engineers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed RAIBO2, a quadrupedal robot that completed a full 42-kilometer marathon on a single battery charge. The landmark feat, detailed this week in the flagship scientific journal Nature, marks the first time robotics research from Korea has graced the main pages of the prestigious publication, signaling a major leap forward for long-distance autonomous field machines. The milestone unfolded during the annual Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon — a local race named after the agricultural region’s famous fruit — where RAIBO2 lined up alongside human runners as
