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Chinese Humanoid Robots Break Human Sprint Records at World Robot Games

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8 sources across 8 countries

Who reported this

  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • South China Morning Post Hong Kong · Centre-right · Alibaba Group
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Rappler Philippines · Centre-left · Rappler Inc, staff-held
  • Business Day South Africa · Centre-right · Arena Holdings (Lebashe Investment Group)
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA
  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

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A Chinese humanoid robot broke Usain Bolt's 100 meter world record during the opening of the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The robot, Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, completed the sprint in 9.39 seconds on Saturday, August 22. Another robot from the smartphone maker Honor, named Lightning, also beat Bolt's 9.58 second record with a time of 9.47 seconds in the same heat. Some reports indicate that Lightning reached 9.32 seconds during preparatory tests. Despite the speed, several robots struggled to stop, slamming into thick mats placed at the finish line.

The five day event, held at the National Speed Skating Oval, features 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries. The competition includes 51 events, ranging from sports like football, boxing, and table tennis to scenario based tasks such as restaurant service, emergency response, and industrial assembly. In other athletic feats, a robot surpassed the human world record for the 400 meter sprint with a time of 39.7 seconds, and another reached 2.88 meters in a standing high jump.

Technical challenges remain a focal point of the games. Observers noted issues with balance, battery management, and the ability of robots to brake effectively. To support the robots, Huawei and China Unicom deployed a 5G-A infrastructure to ensure low latency for remote operations. While some robots operate autonomously, others are controlled by humans, with autonomous performance receiving higher scoring coefficients.

Outlets with a center lean focused on the record breaking athletic achievements and the general scale of the event. Center left sources highlighted the contrast between the robots' speed and their lack of physical grace, noting instances where machines collapsed or stumbled. Center right sources emphasized the strategic industrial implications for China, the geopolitical tension with the United States regarding robot imports, and the gap between flashy sporting demonstrations and the practical utility of robots in real world labor.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
Highlighted the physical clumsiness of the robots despite their speed.
Centre
Focused primarily on the record breaking sports results and the event's scale.
Centre-right
Framed the event as a strategic industrial milestone and a point of geopolitical competition with the US.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.