Robot sprinter shatters another 100m record in China

BEIJING — A robot sprinter broke another 100-metre record Wednesday at a showcase of China’s growing technological prowess.

The record ended China’s five-day World Humanoid Robot Games, in its second year in Beijing, in which more than 2,000 humanoid robots competed in Olympics-style events including soccer, boxing and running.

The winning robot finished the 100 metrein 8.84 seconds, breaking a record for the second straight day. A robot ran 8.86 seconds Tuesday, after another clocked 9.39 seconds four days earlier — all at the Games.

Several robot runners, including the champion, crashed into a padded barrier after crossing the finish line. Sparks flew from some of the robots as staff rushed over with fire extinguishers and sprayed those machines lying on the ground. Almost all the robot runners were eventually carried away on stretchers.

Robots also competed in real-world tasks, including housework, hotel services and emergency response.

All three records were set by the same humanoid robot model, Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics, also known as X-Humanoid. The company was founded in Beijing in 2023.