Beijing robot tops Bolt's 100m record, CCTV says

A humanoid robot model called Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at the World Robot Games in Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, faster than Usain Bolt's 9.58-second human record from 2009.

The white, headless robot was shown during the games' opening ceremony on Saturday, August 22. On Sunday, August 23, the same humanoid model completed 400 metres in a revised time of 38.15 seconds at Beijing's Olympic speed skating arena.

Tiangong Ultra was developed by a local government-backed research centre in Beijing. Dozens of humanoid robots and their human operators took part in events including athletics, boxing, football and martial arts.

The event also showed the limits of the machines. Some robot runners failed to start, moved slowly or fell soon after the race began. In a football event, a small robot kicked the ball off the pitch, while a boxing robot stumbled into the ropes and had to be removed by people.

Hou Yali, a 72-year-old Beijing spectator, said she wanted to see robots tested against humans and used for household work. She said the races were a test of speed, not of intelligence or practical home tasks.