World's first android marathon flagged off

London, Feb 25 (ANI): It has begun - the world's first pint-sized robos have set off on the world's first robot marathon.

The event got under way in Osaka, Japan, today with five competitors trying to better each other over the full distance course, which they are expected to complete by Sunday.

Each runner is just 30cm tall but they will still be required to power round the 100m track 420 times to reach the marathon distance of 26 miles - 42km, reports the Sun.

Vstone, the Japanese robot maker and event organiser, said the event will demonstrate the machines' durability and manoeuvrability. (ANI)