Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record in test run

Beijing has witnessed a remarkable feat as a humanoid robot, named Lightning, developed by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Honor, ran 100 meters in 9.32 seconds. This performance exceeded the previous human world record set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at 9.58 seconds in 2009. Lightning achieved a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second during a preparatory test event for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, which commenced in Beijing on Saturday.

China has been actively promoting humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with government officials and corporations believing that advancements in artificial intelligence and hardware will accelerate their use in various sectors, including manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications. The robot, standing at 169 cm tall, initially had 95-cm legs during the half marathon event in April, where it completed the 21-km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, surpassing the elite men's human world-record pace.

However, researchers subsequently extended the robot's legs by 10 cm to a length of 1.05 meters in preparation for the World Humanoid Robot Games.