A Chinese humanoid robot has stunned the sporting and technology worlds after running 100 metres in 9.39 seconds, beating Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt’s human world record of 9.58 seconds.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, achieved the remarkable time during a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, August 22.
The robot won its heat after overtaking another humanoid, Honor’s Lightning, near the finish line.
Reuters reported the result as a major demonstration of how quickly humanoid robotics is advancing.
The performance surpassed the 9.58 seconds Bolt recorded at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, a mark that has stood as the men’s 100-metre world record for more than 17 years.
However, the extraordinary race did not look quite like a traditional human sprint.
Tiangong Ultra initially fell behind Lightning before accelerating and passing its rival late in the race.
Both robots struggled to control their momentum after crossing the finish line, with Tiangong stumbling towards the sidelines while Lightning crashed into the protective mat and had to be carried away on a stretcher.
Lightning also produced a time faster than Bolt’s record, finishing its heat in 9.47 seconds.
Earlier in testing, the robot had reportedly clocked an even quicker 9.32 seconds and reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.
The breakthrough represents a dramatic improvement from last year’s inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games.
Tiangong Ultra won the 100 metres at those games in 21.50 seconds, meaning its latest official performance cut more than 12 seconds from its previous winning time.
The sprint was only one part of a much larger showcase of humanoid technology in Beijing.
This year’s World Humanoid Robot Games feature 51 events, combining sporting competitions with challenges designed to test whether robots can perform practical tasks in environments similar to factories, restaurants, offices and emergency situations.More than 2,000 robots from 666 teams representing 16 countries and six continents are taking part, showing the growing international interest in humanoid machines.
More than 40% of the practical challenges require the robots to operate fully autonomously.
The competition also highlights an important shift in the development of humanoid robots.
Speed and athletic ability may attract the biggest headlines, but engineers and companies are increasingly focused on whether robots can perform useful jobs reliably.
According to Reuters reports, the games include tasks such as connecting cables, recognising objects, packaging, industrial assembly, restaurant service and electric-vehicle charging.
These challenges are intended to test skills that are much closer to everyday work than simply running or performing acrobatic movements.
China has made humanoid robotics a strategic part of its ambitions in advanced manufacturing.
The country has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, robotics and automation as companies look for ways to deploy humanoids in manufacturing, logistics and other industries.
Reuters has also reported that Chinese companies are increasingly attempting to move the technology from demonstrations and exhibitions into practical commercial applications.
The record-breaking sprint therefore represents more than a spectacular sporting moment.
It is another sign of the rapid progress being made in machines designed to move and operate in ways similar to humans.Still, the robots’ dramatic loss of control after the race also exposed the limitations that remain.
Running in a straight line is one challenge; stopping safely, recovering from mistakes and dealing with unpredictable real-world environments are considerably harder.
That is why the biggest test for humanoid robots may not ultimately be whether they can outrun the fastest human.
It may be whether they can reliably work alongside humans.
For now, however, Tiangong Ultra has produced a headline that would once have seemed impossible: a machine has run the 100 metres faster than the fastest human ever recorded.
And in doing so, it has pushed the boundary between human athletic achievement and robotic performance into new territory.
