BEIJING, Aug 26 — A Chinese humanoid robot named Tiangong Ultra ran the 100 metres in 8.64 seconds on Wednesday, nearly a second faster than Jamaican Usain Bolt's human world-record time of 9.58 seconds set in 2009 at the world championships in Berlin. This performance marked the conclusion of a five-day event known as the Robot Olympics, which featured robotic athletes competing in various sports and industrial challenges.
Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, showed rapid improvement throughout the competition, posting qualifying times of 9.39 seconds and 8.86 seconds before winning the large-size robot 100m final at the second World Humanoid Robot Games.
The event brought together over 2,000 robots from 666 teams, mostly Chinese, competing in 51 disciplines that included sports contests and task-based challenges in simulated factories, restaurants, offices, and emergency settings.
Spectators noted that the robots appeared more capable than those seen at the inaugural games. "Last year's robots looked a little stiff and uncoordinated," said 34-year-old Niu. "This year, they are much better. They are like healthy newborn babies growing up."
Yang, 29, expressed optimism about the future of robotics, saying she could imagine robots becoming as commonplace as smartphones, with "maybe there will be one at home and one at work."
The event is expected to provide a significant boost for industry development in robotics.
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