Robots can now run faster than some of the greatest sprinters in history. On Saturday, an android ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games. That is 19 hundredths of a second faster than Usain Bolt’s standing world record. In athletics, Bolt has held the men’s 100-metre world record of 9.58 seconds since the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
Developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, Tiangong Ultra won the race after overtaking another robot, called Lightning, in the final metres. Lightning crossed the finish line in 9.47 seconds, also beating the world record set by the Jamaican champion.
Tiangong Ultra had already competed in previous events and won the 100-metre race there as well, but at the time it completed the distance in only 21.50 seconds. This means it was more than twice as fast at this year’s competition.
Lightning had achieved an even better result just a few hours before the race. According to Chinese state media, it ran the distance in 9.32 seconds during a test, reaching a top speed of 14.5 metres per second, or more than 52 km/h.
