A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor ran 100 metres in 9.32 seconds during a preparatory test event for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV1.
The time surpasses the 9.58-second men's 100-metre world record set by Usain Bolt at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2009. Bloomberg also reported the record-breaking run2.
The robot, dubbed Lightning, reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during the test event. The World Humanoid Robot Games opened in Beijing on Saturday.
Lightning had previously won the 21km Beijing half marathon in April in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, a time faster than the elite men's human world-record pace. At the half marathon, Lightning stood 169cm tall with 95cm legs. Researchers have since lengthened the robot's legs by 10cm to 1.05 metres ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games.
China has been promoting humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate deployment in manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications.
Booster Robotics humanoid robots were also present at the opening ceremony for the games.
ANALYSIS The 9.32-second sprint and the 50-minute-26-second half marathon represent two distinct locomotion benchmarks — one testing peak bipedal speed, the other sustained endurance — cleared by the same platform within months of each other. The leg-length modification between the half marathon and the sprint event suggests active hardware iteration between competitive outings. Honor's involvement signals that consumer electronics companies in China are channeling resources into humanoid robotics, not just dedicated robotics firms.