Posted on 08/26/2026 11:00:16 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A Chinese humanoid robot set a new 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds in Beijing on Tuesday (Aug 25), beating its robot competitors — and the fastest recorded human time.
The race was part of China's World Humanoid Robot Games, an Olympic-style competition now in its second year in Beijing. The event is also a showcase for China's rapid advances in robotics amid an intensifying technology rivalry with the US
The previous robot record of 9.39 seconds had been set just three days earlier, on Saturday.
For comparison, the men's 100-meter world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009.
Experts are amazed to see such progress in the humanoid robot industry.
"This is a significant milestone — not simply because the robot ran faster than a human, but because of what it takes to make a bipedal robot run at this speed," said Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"As speed increases, balance, control, impacts, actuator performance, and mechanical robustness all become much more challenging," said Hong.
The record-breaking robot fell after hitting the finish line, a padded barrier, with sparks flying from its waist.
Hong pointed out that the fall leads to more meaningful and difficult questions: whether robots can move and stop safely, recognise unexpected obstacles, recover from mistakes and continue working, the capabilities that ultimately make them more useful.
The Games feature over 1,300 competitions involving more than 2,000 robots in 51 events like running, long jump and table tennis, as well as ballroom dancing.
Unlike the traditional Olympics, the robots also compete in teams in real-world scenarios, including household tasks, hotel services and emergency response.
"'Housekeeper' and 'caregiver' robots are still in the pilot and validation phase," China's official newspaper People's Daily said on Monday, "(but) challenges are precisely where the focus of development lies … China's robotics industry is evolving toward higher quality and innovation."
No matter what...it’s still nuts and bolts and can’t compete with God’s “Man”...and “Woman”.
I mean in this day and age it was an inevitably was it not?
I think the 'big deal' is that it is happening in China, and not the U.S.
My Mazda CX-3 can beat that record, carrying two people.
Just wait until it identifies as a woman.
Now imagine these things on the battlefield, holding rifles.....
If only Bobby “The Brain” Heenan could have seen this humanoid.
Many here think that China can't innovate; but, they clearly are doing something we aren't. Now, if I were funding such a thing, I'd be working toward mechanical soldiers that could run through the woods, across rock fields, through gas clouds, and deliver gun fire with pinpoint accuracy or perhaps satchels of explosives ... by the thousands.
Sure enough, you demonstrate that Americans seem to be falling behind in innovation. I do not say this to you in a harsh manner, just to advise that you might have recognized one important potential.
You and I seem to be the only ones who “get it”.
Uh huh, but the Saturn V didn't hunt you down on the battlefield.
Okay the robot is faster than a human. My 300 Win Mag is many times faster than both. Of what is the importance of the speed of the human, the robot, nor my Win Mag at 3300 feet per second?
Having been a nerd for all things science fiction even before I was a teenager, I’ve seen more than a few things that at the time WERE fiction end up eventually becoming reality.
The first time I saw the Terminator movie I was pretty sure something similar would be on the horizon some day.
Technology certainly isn’t that advanced yet and we will probably be gone by then but something similar to schwarzenegger’s role in that movie will no doubt become a reality some day.
I mean think about it, a mere 60 years after the Wright brothers took flight we put men on the moon.
So the fact robots are now being built that can do the things they can just doesn’t surprise me.
This project will result in robotic soldiers. Those will be armored. Have a lovely fracas.
You are absolutely right! Combine those robots with AI, and the Terminator is born. It will happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.