A humanoid robot developed by China’s Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center set a new benchmark in athletics on Wednesday, completing the 100-meter dash in 8.64 seconds—nearly a full second faster than Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record of 9.58 seconds. The performance, achieved during the final of the Large-scale robots category at the five-day event in Beijing, underscored rapid advancements in autonomous robotic mobility.
The competition, billed as a Robot Olympics, drew more than 2,000 machines and 666 teams, predominantly from China, across 51 disciplines spanning sports, industrial tasks, and simulated emergency scenarios. Organizers said the event served as both a showcase and a catalyst for refining embedded AI systems in autonomous machines.
Tiangong Ultra, the robot behind the record-breaking run, posted times of 9.39 seconds and 8.86 seconds in earlier heats before crossing the finish line in 8.64 seconds. Spectators at the venue described the machines as markedly more fluid and coordinated compared with previous iterations, with one attendee noting they now resemble "healthy newborn babies growing up."
The event’s organizers highlighted the broader implications for industrial automation, with the founder and CTO of Galbot, He Wang, stating that such competitions provide critical momentum for sector development. The competition concluded on Wednesday, marking the end of a five-day program that included challenges tailored for factories, restaurants, offices, and emergency response environments.
