Exclusive-After outrunning Bolt, China’s robot champion races towards real-world work

Beijing, September 10 - A week after his robot, TianGong Ultra, outpaced the world's fastest human, Jack Guo is already racing towards a more ambitious objective. During the World Humanoid Robot Games, Ultra flew past spectators, covering 100 meters in just 8.64 seconds, a full second quicker than Usain Bolt's record. During the event, Guo explained that they made significant strides after days of continuous testing and fixing broken robots between races.

With Ultra performing smoothly beyond the 50-meter mark, Guo finally felt relieved. Guo, who leads the development of Ultra and Omni, a smaller model for 400m races, at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre (X-Humanoid), spoke to Reuters for the first time as a foreign journalist. After breaking the record, Guo's focus shifts to creating more reliable and practical robots.

He emphasized during the interview that the ultimate goal is to transform high performance into high reliability and usability. The record-setting run offers an exclusive glimpse into China's leading humanoid robotics industry, driven by state support, extensive supply chains, and fierce competition. However, the industry's next hurdle lies in transforming impressive demonstrations into practical applications.

X-Humanoid is situated in Yizhuang, a high-tech zone in Beijing's southeast, and a key robotics hub. The district is now home to a robot sales center and even a robot-themed restaurant as part of the capital's efforts to promote the industry. A first-floor showroom displays the evolution of TianGong robots, including a robot that completed a half-marathon in 2022.

On the ninth floor, suspended white Ultra and Omni humanoids rest in metal frames. After a visit, engineers were seen repairing and testing robots, with some removing head covers, others tightening legs, and running walking trials. In the adjacent office, Guo's team develops software, which they test on physical machines. Established in November 2023, X-Humanoid is backed by state-owned and private investors, including robotics firm UBTech and domestic tech giants Xiaomi and Baidu.

The company develops hardware, motion-control software, and AI for the wider industry while commercializing its own robots. The company has not disclosed the number of robots it has sold or deployed commercially. Its customers include universities, research institutes, and companies exploring industrial applications. Initially designed as an experiment to push the boundaries of humanoid movement, Ultra's current speed was never its primary purpose.

Guo likens today's humanoid robots to the first cars, where the focus is on making them controllable before equipping them with reliable bodies and advanced AI brains capable of executing complex tasks autonomously. At present, Ultra is not intended for commercial use. However, Guo envisions smaller humanoid robots finding early roles in commercial services and light industry, while Ultra could eventually act as an outdoor inspector or emergency rescuer.

One major challenge is improving braking. Weighing 75 kg, Ultra can outrun 17 meters per second at top speed. At the Games, Ultra's sprint ended abruptly due to a crash mat placed at the end of the 100-meter track. Future versions could be lighter, with improved braking and safer postures, according to Guo. Ultra entered the Games with three sprint strategies, trained through simulations.

Each strategy corresponds to a different motion-control system that adjusts the robot's joints and balance, enabling upright sprinting without direct human guidance. Ultra utilized a different program in each race, achieving times of 9.39 seconds in the preliminary, 8.86 seconds in the semifinal, and 8.64 seconds in the final. Between races, engineers pushed for faster programs and adjusted navigation and running controls.

During all-night testing sessions, robots sometimes stumbled, lost balance, and crashed, prompting teams to deploy backup machines while repair crews worked to fix damaged ones. Earlier in development, breakdowns were even more frequent. Legs and waists broke, Guo recalled. Even on the morning of the final, the team was testing a newly trained running program.

While it worked consistently during trials, it failed on the competition track. Differences among individual robots posed challenges, leaving Guo anxious before the race. Ultra's heavier legs limited its early acceleration, but once it surpassed 10 meters per second, it could continue building speed and overtake its competitors.

The team managed to shave roughly half a second from its reaction time by the semifinal, according to Guo. By then, attention shifted to outright speed. In the final, Ultra's faster reaction time and late acceleration allowed it to make a decisive overtake. Backstage, the team celebrated. At the closing ceremony, TianGong humanoids donning red capes with "Champion" emblazoned on them, along with pom-poms, took the stage. Finally, Guo could enjoy a good night's sleep.