World Humanoid Robot Games: Tiangong Ultra runs 8.86 seconds

Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 8.86 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, beating Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record. The Chinese humanoid robot had opened the competition with a 9.39-second heat time, already faster than Bolt’s mark from the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

The 8.86-second performance came in Tuesday’s semi-final. Tiangong Ultra was developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre and improved its own time by more than half a second between the opening round and the semi-final.

The race also underlined the unusual challenges facing the machines after they reach the finish. Tiangong Ultra hit a thick stopping mat and stumbled towards the sidelines, while spectators moved away from its path. It was not the only robot to struggle: Honor’s Lightning fell after completing the race and had to be taken away on a stretcher.

Lightning had finished in 9.47 seconds after leading Tiangong Ultra early in a race on Saturday, before the Chinese robot passed it close to the line. Tiangong Ultra’s latest time marks a major improvement from its victory at the inaugural 2024 edition, when it finished the same event in 21.50 seconds.

Lightning has also won the humanoid half-marathon at these games in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Its researchers extended its legs by 10 centimetres before the competition, taking their length to 1.05 metres. The 169-centimetre robot’s half-marathon pace was faster than the elite men’s human world record.

The competition is being held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval and continues through Wednesday. Its programme includes 51 events spanning running, football, dancing and industrial tasks. This edition has brought together 2,056 robots from 666 teams representing 16 countries across six continents, compared with 280 teams at the first games.