Chinese robot runs 100m sprint quicker than Usain Bolt’s world record

Chinese ⁠smartphone maker Honor’s self-developed humanoid ⁠robot Lightning ⁠ran ​the 100m in 9.32 seconds, ⁠beating the human world ⁠record, China’s ​state broadcaster ‌reported.

The humanoid ‌reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during ‌a preparatory test event for ​the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which ⁠begin on Saturday. This ​performance surpassed ​the ​9.58sec men’s ​100m world record ​set ​by Usain Bolt 17 years ago at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

A Galbot humanoid robot dives for the ball during a demonstration of a tennis match with a human player, before the opening ceremony for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, in Beijing. Photograph: Florence Lo/Reuters

China has been promoting humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies ‌betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their deployment in manufacturing, logistics ​and consumer applications.

Lightning also won the 21km Beijing half marathon in April in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the elite men’s ⁠human world-record pace. The robot stood 169cm tall and ​had ​95cm legs at ​the half marathon. Researchers have since lengthened ​its legs ‌by 10​cm for these Games, China Central Television reported.

This story will update