On August 22, the second World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval "Ice Ribbon." Honor's robot "Lightning" clocked 9.32 seconds in the 100m dash during trial runs, with a peak speed of 14.5 m/s. The human world record of 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt in 2009 and untouched for 17 years — was broken by a humanoid robot.
Just four months earlier, "Lightning" won the humanoid robot half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, also breaking the human record in that event.
Technical Upgrades: 1.05m Legs, Vision-Only Sprint
To prepare for the Games, "Lightning" underwent targeted modifications. Leg length was increased from 0.95m to 1.05m. The team adjusted thigh-to-calf ratio, applied lightweight topology design, and improved joint module torque and response speed.
For the fully autonomous 100m race, "Lightning" uses a pure vision solution, with an added camera at the hip to maintain trajectory; for the 400m, a radar is added at the head.
Beyond the Track: The Industry's "Longer Race"
The Games feature 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries — team count up 138% and robot count quadrupled from the inaugural event. All events except the 100m and 400m obstacle races require full autonomy.
Honor's breakthrough builds on its smartphone technology: the liquid cooling system and lightweight structures originated from phone R&D. The robot's body is jointly developed with Lens Technology, with 132 key metal structural parts.
China accounts for over half of global humanoid robot products, and H1 2026 shipments exceeded 40,000 units, representing 97% of the global total. However, as Unitree founder Wang Xingxing noted, generalization capability remains the global bottleneck — the critical point for industry takeoff will be when a robot can complete 80% of tasks in an unfamiliar environment through language commands alone.
The 9.32-second record matters beyond the track. The technologies pushed to their limits — motion control, environmental perception, thermal management, and decision algorithms — will eventually move from the stadium into factories, stores, and homes. The bigger question for the humanoid robot industry is whether it can evolve from "running fast" to "working reliably" in real-world scenarios across thousands of industries. That is the true "long race" ahead.