Humanoid Robots Surpass Usain Bolt’s 100-Meter World Record at Beijing Games

Humanoid Sprinters Eclipse Human World Records

Athletic milestones in robotics reached a dramatic turning point at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing. Chinese humanoid robot Tiangong Ultra completed the 100-meter sprint in just 9.39 seconds, outpacing Usain Bolt’s longstanding world record of 9.58 seconds. Another competitor, Honor’s Lightning, secured second place with a time of 9.47 seconds, also finishing well below the human benchmark.

Tiangong Ultra demonstrated comparable dominance over longer distances, clocking 38.15 seconds in the 400-meter event to beat Wayde van Niekerk’s world mark of 43.03 seconds by nearly five seconds. While rapid acceleration was on display, decelerating remained a challenge, as several units crashed into safety barriers post-finish. Overall, top sprint times improved by 2.3 times compared to the prior year.

The competition expanded significantly this year, featuring 2,056 robots from 666 teams representing 16 nations across 51 categories. More than 40% of the disciplines required complete machine autonomy, emphasizing operational viability in industrial, hospitality, and disaster response scenarios.

Waymo Develops Custom In-House AI Processor for Robotaxis

Autonomous vehicle leader Waymo is reducing its reliance on off-the-shelf processing units from Nvidia and AMD by designing its own custom 5-nanometer application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The proprietary chip delivers over 1,000 TOPS dedicated to processing sensor streams from the vehicle's perimeter.

The hardware makes its debut in Waymo’s sixth-generation Driver system powering the Zeekr-manufactured "Ojai" minivan. The internal upgrade coincides with massive scaling: California regulatory figures show paid autonomous trips surged tenfold from 143,000 in May 2024 to roughly 1.45 million per month by mid-2026, backing more than 220 million fully autonomous miles logged to date.

FDA Authorizes First Autonomous Venipuncture Robot

Medical robotics marked a major regulatory milestone as the U.S. FDA granted de novo clearance to Aletta, an autonomous blood-drawing device created by Dutch startup Vitestro. The authorization permits clinical outpatient use under the supervision of a single phlebotomist managing up to three stations.

Aletta locates veins through an integrated sensory array combining ultrasound, Doppler, and near-infrared imaging. The system manages the entire procedure automatically—from sanitization and tourniquet application to needle insertion, sample tube swapping, disposal, and dressing. In clinical trials involving 1,633 participants, the robot achieved a 94.5% first-attempt success rate.

MIT Engineers Modernize Heavy Machinery Controls

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have engineered an arm-like mechanical controller for construction excavators, shifting operation away from standard joysticks toward intuitive telemanipulation. The interface mirrors the excavator’s joint mechanics, functioning similarly to an exoskeleton.

During simulated testing across varied terrain, untrained operators completed basic earthmoving tasks 37% quicker than novices using traditional control sticks. In collaboration with Sumitomo Heavy Industries, the team is integrating haptic feedback to enable safer, precision teleoperation in hazardous environments.

Other Major Developments in Robotics

• Tiangong showcased versatility in Beijing by riding the quadrupedal robotic mount Qiji X1 into the arena.

• Generalist AI introduced its GEN-1.5 model, capable of learning robotic manipulation routines from a single demonstration with an 83% success rate after five minutes of training.

• XPeng's robotics division secured over $900 million at a valuation topping $6.3 billion as it works toward mass manufacturing its IRON bipedal robot.

• Nevada regulators approved the deployment of up to 8,000 autonomous robotaxis across the Las Vegas metropolitan area for Tesla, Uber, and Waymo.

• Hangzhou traffic authorities deployed 15 automated robotic officers, issuing over 170,000 violation alerts and decreasing specific traffic infractions by over 40%.