Smartphone maker Honor's 'Lightning' robot crossed the finish line in 9.32 seconds, beating the fastest time ever recorded by Usain Bolt. Another competitor, Tiangong, won the 400m race in 38.15 seconds, topping Wayde van Niekerk's 43.03 second record. These results were recorded at the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, where more than 2,000 humanoid robots from 666 teams are competing.
The event consists of 51 competitions, featuring sports and scenario-based tasks in restaurants, factories and emergency-response settings. Coordination tests highlight the robots' versatility, such as a machine from Galbot that completed a tennis rally of more than 100 shots without a mistake. While some entries crashed into safety cushions during sprints, Honor's 'Lightning' survived a collision with a safety wall without its waist imploding.
Key sources
- SOURCE@reuters“scenario-based challenges in factories, restaurants and emergency-response settings”x.com
- SUPPORT@josephjacks_“666 teams from around the world are competing with more than 2,000 humanoid r…”x.com
- SUPPORT@trungtphan“crashed into a safety wall without having its waist implode with sparks flying off”x.com
- SUPPORT@bearlyai“the Galbot Chinese humanoid robot completing a tennis rally of over 100 shots without a mistake”x.com
- SUPPORT@firstsquawk“Around 80 Booster T2 humanoid robots marched and ran in synchronized formation”x.com
- SUPPORT@rohanpaul_ai“clocked 9.39s over 100m”x.com
- SUPPORT@wallstreetmav“breaking the human world record of 43.03 seconds”x.com