Robots top human records at China’s humanoid games

Lightning streaks down the track during its record-breaking 100-meter run during the opening ceremony of 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing — The machines are still struggling to brake and had to be carried off on stretchers after reaching the finish line

(Image credit: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images)

What happened

Chinese robots ran faster and jumped higher than human record-holders this weekend, at the opening of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. One humanoid ran the 100-meter sprint in 9.39 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record, while another covered 400 meters in 38.15 seconds, smashing Wayde van Niekerk’s 43.03-second record. Both robots were made by Beijing’s X-Humanoid, as was a third that reached 2.88 meters in the standing high jump, besting Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45 meters.

The five-day Olympics-like event is a “spectacle demonstrating China’s rapid progress in advanced robotics,” The Associated Press said. China “makes the majority of the world’s humanoid robots,” but they are “still mostly used for demonstrations, performances and research — at least for now.” The sprinting performances were a “sharp improvement” over last year, Reuters said, though “braking was an issue, as the machines slammed into a thick mat” after the finish line and had to be carried off on stretchers.

More than 2,000 humanoid robots are competing in 30 sporting events including soccer, table tennis and boxing. There are also 21 “scenario-based contests” like “EV charging, restaurant work” and “industrial assembly,” Reuters said, and the “real test” is whether the humanoids can “handle packaging ‌and warehouse operations while reliably performing precision tasks” that evaluate “their ability to work like humans in less flashy jobs.”