Humanoid Robots Beat Usain Bolt's 100m Record in Beijing

Humanoid robots exceeded human records at the World Robot Games over the weekend in Beijing's Olympic speed skating arena, showcasing China's dominance in the industry.

In a preliminary heat on Saturday, Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, ran 100 meters in 9.39 seconds. This time surpassed Usain Bolt's 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds. Another robot, Lightning, from smartphone maker Honor, finished the 100 meters in 9.47 seconds, also faster than Bolt's record. Tiangong Ultra also ran the 400-meter race in 38.16 seconds, beating Wayde van Niekerk's 2016 world record of 43.03 seconds.

Lightning won this year's humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes, 26 seconds, surpassing the elite men's human world record. The World Humanoid Robot Games, in its second edition, features 51 events including football, dancing, and industrial tasks, with 2,056 robots from 16 countries participating. The sprinting bots often slammed into cushioned walls after races; Tiangong stumbled, and Lightning collapsed and was carried away.

China promotes humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies investing in AI and hardware for manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications. Shares in Unitree, a Chinese humanoid robot maker, jumped over five-fold in its Shanghai trading debut, reaching a market value of about $50 billion.