Beijing games spotlight China’s strategic humanoid robot industry
Honor’s Lightning followed Tiangong Ultra across the line as both humanoids recorded times quicker than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second men’s world record.
- The second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing are showcasing advanced capabilities, with Chinese robots running the 100-meter dash faster than Usain Bolt's human world record.
- The event highlights China's promotion of humanoid robots as a strategic emerging industry, with policymakers betting on their future use in manufacturing, logistics, and consumer applications.
- The industry's growth is demonstrated by a significant increase in event participation and strong investor interest, exemplified by the successful stock market debut of robot maker Unitree.
A year after taking the 100 metres in 21.50 seconds at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, Tiangong Ultra won a preliminary heat in 9.39 seconds as the second edition opened in Beijing on Saturday (August 22).
According to organisers, the Chinese humanoid, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, overcame an early deficit and overhauled Honor’s Lightning near the finish.
The smartphone maker’s robot registered 9.47 seconds.
Both machines covered the distance in less than the 9.58 seconds recorded by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt when he set the men’s world record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Their speed was not matched by a controlled finish.
Both ran straight into a thick mat intended to stop them.
Tiangong then lurched towards the sidelines, forcing onlookers to move, while Lightning collapsed and was carried away on a stretcher.
Football, dancing and industrial-task contests sit alongside the 100 metres in a programme of 51 events.
Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval is hosting the games through Wednesday.
This year’s field numbers 2,056 robots from 666 teams spanning 16 countries and six continents.
The inaugural event had attracted 280 teams.
Humanoid robots have been promoted by China as a strategic emerging industry.
Policymakers and companies are betting that advances in artificial intelligence and hardware will hasten their use in manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications.
Investor interest in the sector was also visible on Wednesday, when Unitree, described as China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, began trading in Shanghai.
Its shares rose more than fivefold, making the company worth about US$50 billion.
Lightning had also logged a 9.32-second run in a preparatory test earlier on Saturday, according to Chinese state media, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second.
Its proportions had been altered after this year’s humanoid half-marathon.
CCTV reported that Lightning then stood 169 centimetres tall with 95-centimetre legs.
Researchers subsequently lengthened its legs by 10 centimetres, to 1.05 metres, ahead of the games.
In longer-distance competition, Lightning won this year’s humanoid half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, faster than the pace of the elite men’s human world record.
Tiangong won the world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon in Beijing last year.
Source: Reuters
