A Chinese humanoid robot sets a new 100-meter sprint record at Beijing Games
- A Chinese humanoid robot set a new 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds in Beijing.
- The previous robot record of 9.39 seconds was set just three days earlier.
- The event is part of China’s World Humanoid Robot Games, now in its second year.
- Experts noted the significance of the robot's ability to run faster than a human.
- The record-breaking robot fell after hitting a padded barrier at the finish line.
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese humanoid robot set a new 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds in Beijing on Tuesday, beating its robot competitors — and the fastest recorded human time. The race was part of China’s World Humanoid Robot Games, an Olympic-style competition now in its second year in Beijing.
The previous robot record of 9.39 seconds had been set just three days earlier, on Saturday. For comparison, the men’s 100-meter world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009.
Experts are amazed to see such progress in the humanoid robot industry. “This is a significant milestone — not simply because the robot ran faster than a human, but because of what it takes to make a bipedal robot run at this speed,” said Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The record-breaking robot fell after hitting the finish line, a padded barrier, with sparks flying from its waist. Hong pointed out that the fall leads to more meaningful questions about the capabilities that ultimately make robots more useful.
一款中国类人机器人在北京比赛中创下新的100米短跑纪录
北京（美联社）——一款中国类人机器人在周二创下了8.86秒的新的100米短跑纪录，超越了其他机器人竞争者以及最快的人类纪录。该比赛是中国第二届世界类人机器人比赛的一部分，类似于奥林匹克风格的赛事。
之前的机器人纪录为9.39秒，刚在三天前创下。作为比较，男子100米世界纪录为9.58秒，由牙买加短跑运动员博尔特于2009年创下。
专家们对类人机器人行业的这种进步感到惊讶。“这是一个重要的里程碑——不仅因为机器人跑得比人类快，还因为让双足机器人以这种速度奔跑所需的技术，”加州大学洛杉矶分校机械与航空航天工程教授丹尼斯·洪表示。
创纪录的机器人在撞上终点线的软垫后摔倒，腰部冒出火花。洪指出，这次摔倒引发了关于最终使机器人更有用的能力的更有意义的问题。