A robot sprinter shatters a 100-meter record again as sparks fly at China's robot competition

BEIJING — A robot sprinter broke another 100-meter record on 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 meters in 8.64 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.

For comparison, the men’s 100-meter world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt in 2009.

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.

Experts acknowledged the progress humanoid robots have made on the track, where conditions are relatively predictable, but said the real challenge is navigating the complexities of the real world.

“True progress will be measured in warehouses and factories where humanoids do work autonomously for hours and generate real economic value," said Jonathan Hurst, a professor of robotics in Oregon State University.

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.