Usain Bolt's 100m record broken! Not by a human
What's the story
A Chinese humanoid robot has broken the men's 100-meter world record held by Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt. The robot, named Tiangong Ultra, clocked a stunning time of 9.39 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday. The achievement marks a major milestone in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). Here are further details.
Robot's capabilities
Tiangong Ultra developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center
Tiangong Ultra was developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. The robot won its heat at the opening of the games' second edition.
It beat smartphone maker Honor's Lightning near the finish after falling behind early in the race.
Lightning finished in 9.47 seconds, also faster than Bolt's record of 9.58 seconds set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Tech advancements
Tiangong Ultra won 100m in 21.50 seconds last year
Both Tiangong Ultra and Lightning crashed into a thick mat designed to stop them in their tracks.
The results mark a sharp improvement from last year's inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 meters in 21.50 seconds.
China has promoted humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers betting that advances in AI and hardware will accelerate their use across various sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications.
Market response
Unitree's shares soared more than five times on debut
The growing investor interest in the sector was evident earlier this week when shares of Unitree, China's best-known humanoid robot maker, soared more than five times on its Shanghai trading debut. The company now has a market value of about $50 billion.
This year's games have attracted 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and six continents, a huge increase from the 280 teams that participated in last year's inaugural event.