A humanoid robot named Lightning has run the 100 meters in 9.32 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's 17-year-old world record of 9.58 seconds. The feat was reported by China's state broadcaster and occurred during a preparatory test for the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on August 22.
Lightning was developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor as a bipedal humanoid. During the sprint, it reached a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second, roughly 52 km/h. The performance surpassed Bolt's mark set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The World Humanoid Robot Games have become a major showcase for China's robotics industry. Multiple humanoid robots competed in athletic events, with several breaking human benchmarks. Unitree's robot nicknamed Superman also reached 12.66 m/s.
The achievement underscores the accelerating pace of humanoid robotics, particularly in China, where companies like Unitree and Honor are investing heavily in bipedal locomotion research.
