Beijing: A humanoid robot clocked 9.39 seconds to beat the men's 100m world record of 9.58 seconds during the opening ceremony of the second edition of the World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing.
According to Emirates News Agency, the record-breaking performance marked the start of competition among humanoid robots. The Games featured 51 events with a total of 1,301 competitions, attracting 666 teams with 2,056 humanoid robots from around the world. This represented a significant increase in participation, with the number of teams up 138% from the inaugural edition last year.
In addition to athletics and football events, new competitions such as weightlifting, tug-of-war, and table tennis were introduced to test the robots' physical structures and core components. The Games, running from Saturday to Wednesday, also expanded scenario-based competitions designed to simulate real-world applications, covering sectors such as logistics, hospitality, and household services to help robots better integrate into people's daily lives.
In April, a humanoid robot from Shenzhen Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd. won the Beijing E-Town half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds in autonomous navigation mode, surpassing the human world record of 57:20. As humanoid robot research and development continues to progress, the "Ice Ribbon," which hosted a world record during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, is now serving as a venue for showcasing advances in humanoid robotics.