Tiangong Ultra lowers 100 meter record again to 8.64 seconds

Tiangong Ultra has lowered its 100 meter competition record again, completing Wednesday’s final in 8.64 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. The Associated Press reported the result after correcting an earlier figure of 8.84 seconds. The new time follows the 8.86 second semifinal result reported a day earlier.

The faster final also showed that the stopping failure was not isolated to one run. Several competitors, including the winner, crashed into a padded barrier after crossing the line. Sparks came from some machines, staff used fire extinguishers and almost all the robot runners were eventually removed on stretchers, according to AP.

Jonathan Hurst, a robotics professor at Oregon State University, acknowledged the locomotion progress but drew a distinction between a predictable running track and useful autonomy. “True progress will be measured in warehouses and factories where humanoids do work autonomously for hours and generate real economic value,” he told AP.

AP identified Tiangong Ultra’s developer as the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics, also known as X-Humanoid. The organization was founded in Beijing in 2023.

The Games also tested humanoids on housework, hotel services and emergency response tasks. AP did not provide performance results or autonomy details for those events, leaving the sprint as the clearest quantified result and controlled deceleration as its most visible limitation.

Previously on humanoid.guide: Tiangong Ultra runs 100 meters in 8.86 seconds in Beijing

Sources: AP News, news.cgtn.com, washingtonpost.com