Chinese humanoid robot reportedly completes 100 metres in 9.32 seconds
A humanoid robot named Lightning reportedly completed a 100-metre test in Beijing in 9.32 seconds ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games.
In short
- A humanoid robot named Lightning reportedly completed a 100-metre test in Beijing in 9.32 seconds ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games.
A Chinese humanoid robot named Lightning reportedly completed a 100-metre test in 9.32 seconds in Beijing, posting a time below Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second men’s world record.
The result was reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and carried by The Guardian and Al Jazeera. The robot reached a reported peak speed of 14.5 metres per second during a preparatory test for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, scheduled to begin on August 22, 2026.
The comparison with Bolt is illustrative rather than an official athletics record. Human track records are governed by competition rules and conditions that do not apply to a robot test, and the reported robotic performance does not replace the human world record.
Lightning was developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor. The machine had also competed in a Beijing humanoid-robot half marathon in April, and researchers later lengthened its legs as they continued development.
China has identified humanoid robots as an emerging industry, with developers targeting manufacturing, logistics and consumer applications as artificial-intelligence systems and hardware improve.
