Tiangong Ultra clocks 9.39 seconds in 100 metre sprint
Tiangong Ultra won a 100 metre preliminary heat at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing with a time of 9.39 seconds. The humanoid, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, passed Honor’s Lightning near the finish after trailing early in the race.
Lightning finished in 9.47 seconds. Both results were faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58 second human world record, although the competition result should not be treated as a like for like athletics record without fuller information about timing, start procedures and robot operation.
Key facts
- Tiangong Ultra time: 9.39 seconds
- Lightning time: 9.47 seconds
- Tiangong Ultra’s previous winning time: 21.50 seconds
- Lightning test peak speed: 14.5 metres per second
A large same event improvement
The most useful comparison is with Tiangong Ultra’s own performance at the inaugural games. Its winning time last year was 21.50 seconds, meaning the latest run cut more than 12 seconds from that result.
Chinese state media also reported that Lightning completed a preparatory 100 metre test in 9.32 seconds and reached a peak speed of 14.5 metres per second. Reuters reported the test figure but did not provide details of the measurement protocol.
Lightning’s researchers made a substantial geometry change before the games. The robot stood 169 cm tall with 95 cm legs during this year’s humanoid half marathon, then received legs lengthened by 10 cm to 1.05 metres, according to CCTV.
Speed is ahead of stopping control
The finish exposed a less polished part of the performance. Both robots ran into thick mats positioned to stop them. Tiangong Ultra stumbled toward the sidelines, while Lightning collapsed and was carried away. The sprint times show rapid progress in straight line locomotion, but controlled deceleration was not part of the demonstrated result.
Lightning had already won this year’s humanoid half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Tiangong Ultra won the previous edition of that event.
The Beijing games include 51 events spanning football, dancing and industrial tasks. Organizers said 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and six continents were participating, compared with 280 teams at the inaugural event. The competition runs through Wednesday at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval.
Source: reuters.com
