tech
Chinese robot runs 100m sprint quicker than Usain Bolt’s world record
Lightning the humanoid robot clocks 9.32sec in Beijing

TL;DR
- A robot named Lightning ran the 100m in 9.32 seconds, beating the human world record.
- The humanoid robot, developed by Honor, reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.
- Lightning previously won the Beijing half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
- Over 2,000 humanoid robots are participating in the second World Humanoid Robot Games, featuring 51 events.
- The games are seen as a demonstration of China's progress in advanced robotics amidst tech competition with the US.
- A humanoid robot also surpassed the human high jump record, reaching 2.88m.
- The US has banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots citing national security concerns, targeting China.
- Experts note that humanoid robots are largely for demonstrations and research currently, with mass deployment taking time.
- Spectators expressed excitement and amazement at the rapidly improving abilities of humanoid robots.