A Chinese humanoid robot named Tiangong Ultra set a new 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at the World Humanoid Robot Games held at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China. This time beat the previous robot record of 9.39 seconds, which had been set just three days earlier, and also surpassed the men’s human world record of 9.58 seconds set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009.
The event, now in its second year, serves as an Olympic-style competition showcasing advances in robotics technology amid growing competition between China and the United States.
Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, described the achievement as “a significant milestone - not simply because the robot ran faster than a human, but because of what it takes to make a bipedal robot run at this speed.”
China’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, noted on Monday that “'Housekeeper' and ‘caregiver’ robots are still in the pilot and validation phase,” but emphasized that challenges remain the focus of development as China’s robotics industry evolves toward higher quality and innovation.
Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang
Loading comments.