A humanoid robot developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid completed the 100-meter sprint in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games according to event organizers while another from the same group cleared 2.88 meters in the standing high jump. The performances surpassed Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second record set in 2009 and Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45-meter high jump standard from 1993 a report from the Associated Press stated. Honor’s Lightning robot had earlier posted a 9.32-second trial time at a peak speed of 14.5 meters per second before finishing the competitive heat in 9.47 seconds according to the company.
The same X-Humanoid model also ran 400 meters in under 40 seconds beating the human record of 43.03 seconds set by Wayde van Niekerk the Jerusalem Post reported from the event. Those times marked a sharp advance from the inaugural games in 2025 when the 100-meter winner clocked more than 20 seconds. Robots from multiple Chinese developers competed in the heats where some struggled with braking by slamming into padded barriers after the finish line.
Organizers said more than 2,000 humanoid robots from 666 teams across 16 countries took part in the five-day program at the National Speed Skating Oval built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The schedule features 51 events including 30 sports competitions such as table tennis and soccer plus 21 scenario-based tests simulating factory restaurant and emergency response work Reuters noted. More than 40 percent of the contests require full autonomy Huawei which partnered on the games indicated in a statement.
The spectacle unfolded the same week as the 2026 World Robot Conference where around 3,000 robotics products were displayed. It also highlighted escalating technology tensions between China and the United States. Last month the US Federal Communications Commission banned imports of certain foreign-made humanoid robots citing national security while the Pentagon added Unitree Robotics to its list of entities linked to the Chinese military according to multiple reports. Beijing has rejected those characterizations.
Chinese manufacturers shipped more than 18,500 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026 accounting for 97 percent of global volume a Smart Analytics Global assessment found. That total reflected a 272 percent increase from the same period in 2025. TrendForce projected China’s humanoid robot market would reach CNY 15 billion in 2026 with growth of at least 60 percent the following year as commercial applications expand.
Experts caution that most current deployments remain focused on demonstrations performances and research rather than widespread real-world use. The rapid performance gains at the Beijing games nevertheless underscored China’s commanding position in the sector as the technology race intensifies. Event coverage indicated further improvements are expected before the competition concludes on August 26.
Добавить комментарий