Chinese humanoid robot beats Usain Bolt's 100-metre sprint record

The second edition of the World Humanoid Robot Games officially kickstarts in Beijing Saturday evening.

The opening ceremony at the city's National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the "Ice Ribbon," features a musical prelude titled "Melody of the Future"

in which dozens of robots perform instruments alongside human musicians.

Beyond the artistry, the machines also wow the audience as they sprint down the tracks to demonstrate prowess in sports like football, ping pong and tennis with their human partners.

One of the most eye-catching moments is when three formations of autonomous robots march with uniform steps and synchronised arm swings. Another formation of 50 adult-sized robots are trained to march to the main stage, executing acrobatic stunts such as the high-difficulty "Thomas flair" moves.

In a powerful display of the country's advancements in embodied intelligence, a robotic archer draws a bow and ignites the "Zhixin," or intelligence chip, to symbolically light the Games' flame.

It marks the culmination of a global "energy-transfer" relay of robots held in locations in China and abroad - ranging from the Milan Winter Olympics to tea-picking fields in Fujian Province.

During the subsequent 100-metre sprint race, a Chinese robot achieves a result of 9.39 seconds that breaks the human world record set by Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt in 2009.

Meanwhile, another reaches 2.88 metres in a standing high jump,

surpassing both the robot and human high jump records.

The two robots are developed by Beijing-based X-Humanoid.

The Games, now in its second year, will see more than 2,000 droids from 16 countries going head-to-head in a mix of football, running, high-jump and tug-of-war competitions over five days, in a bid to promote technological exchange and industrial collaboration.

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