A Chinese humanoid robot has reportedly broken Jamaican sprinting legend Usain Bolt’s 100m world record, finishing the 100m in 9.32s.
Lightning, the humanoid, accomplished the feat in a preparatory competition before the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which start Saturday.
Chinese media reports say Lightning was built by a Chinese company and was able to reach a maximum speed of 14.5 metres per second during its record-breaking run.
It has been reported that it beat Bolt’s official world record by 0.26 seconds with a time of 9.32 seconds.
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Bolt holds the world record for the fastest men’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany in 2009. In 9.58 seconds, he travelled a distance of 100m.
The reported performance is one of the significant advances in humanoid robotics where designers are now increasingly concentrating on making robots able to undertake complex physical tasks at high speeds.
Unlike traditional industrial robots, modern humanoid robots are being built with human motion and balance so they can run, jump and move in human environments.
The performance of Lightning comes as China is getting ready for the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which was designed to be a showcase of robotic technology and athletic prowess.
It is important to note that the conditions of the run and the technicalities of the event could influence how directly the robot’s performance can be compared to human official athletics results.
However, the outcome is a testament to the swift advances in humanoid robotics and the increasing capacity of robots to mimic ever more complex human actions.
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