Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt’s 100m record, state media says

A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor ↘ 1.65% ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds on Saturday, shattering the human world record held by Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV.reuters

The robot, named Lightning, reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second during a preparatory test event for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which opened in Beijing on Saturday, Reuters reported. The performance beat Bolt's 9.58-second mark, set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, by 0.26 seconds.aljazeera+2

From Half Marathon to Sprint Record

Lightning had already demonstrated its capabilities in April, when it won the 21-kilometer Beijing half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a pace faster than the elite men's human world record. At the time, the robot stood 169 centimeters tall with 95-centimeter legs. Researchers have since lengthened its legs by 10 centimeters to 1.05 meters ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games, CCTV reported.ynetnews+2

China's Robotics Ambitions

The sprint marks a milestone in China's push to develop humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry. Policymakers and companies are betting that advances in artificial intelligence and hardware will accelerate the deployment of humanoid robots in manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications.aljazeera+1

The second World Humanoid Robot Games, which opened Saturday in Beijing, brings together humanoid robots for competitions and demonstrations of their capabilities. Lightning's record-setting run, while achieved outside official athletic governing body oversight, underscores how rapidly bipedal robot locomotion has advanced — from slow, stumbling gaits just a few years ago to speeds no human has ever matched.von