Chinese humanoid robot beats Usain Bolt's 100m world record

A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor has run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's men's world record of 9.58 seconds, China's state broadcaster reported on Saturday.

The robot, dubbed Lightning, reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during a preparatory test event for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which opened in Beijing on 22 August.

The performance surpassed Bolt's 9.58-second men's 100-metre world record, set at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2009.

China has been promoting humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers and companies betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their deployment in manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.

Lightning also won the 21-km Beijing half marathon in April in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the elite men's human world-record pace.

The robot stood 169 cm tall and had 95-cm legs at the half marathon. Researchers have since lengthened its legs by 10 cm to 1.05 metres ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games, China Central Television reported.