BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) – A Chinese humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds in a preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday, faster than the men’s world record held by Jamaican sprinting great Usain Bolt.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, won its heat at the opening of the games’ second edition, organisers said.
The robot overtook smartphone m aker Honor’s Lightning near the finish after falling behind early in the race. Lightning finished in 9.47 seconds, also faster than the 9.58-second record Bolt set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships i n Berlin.
The two robots lacked Bolt’s flair, slamming straight into a thick mat designed to stop them in their t racks, with Tiangong stumbling wildly into the sidelines, forcing onlookers to move out of the way. Lightning was carried away on a stretcher after collapsing to the ground.
The results nevertheless marked a sharp improvement from last year’s inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won t he 100 metres in 21.50 seconds. Tiangong also won the world’s first humanoid robot halfmarathon, held in Beijing l ast year.
Earlier on Saturday, Chinese state media reported that Lightning had run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds in a preparatory test, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.
Lightning won this year’s humanoid halfmarathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the pace of the elite men’s human world record.
Lightning stood 169 cm tall and had 95-cm legs during the half-marathon. Its researchers later lengthened its legs by 10 cm, to 1.05 metres, ahead of the games, according to broadcaster CCTV.
The 100 m etres is among 51 events at the games, which include football, dancing and industrial-task contests.
CHINA SEES HUMANOID ROBOTS AS STRATEGIC INDUSTRY China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their use in m anufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.
Investor enthusiasm for the sector was on display earlier this week when shares in Unitree (688836.SS), opens new tab, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, jumped more than five fold in its Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about $50 b illion.
This year’s games have drawn 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 c ountries and six continents, up from 280 teams at the inaugural event.
The games, held at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, run through Wednesday. Culled from https://www.reuters.com/
