BEIJING: A humanoid robot clocked 9.39 seconds to beat the men's 100m world record of 9.58 seconds during the opening ceremony of the second edition of the World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported.The men's 100m world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt in Berlin in 2009.The record-breaking performance marked the start of competition among humanoid robots. Featuring 51 events with a total of 1,301 competitions, the Games attracted 666 teams with 2,056 humanoid robots from around the world, with the number of teams up 138% from the inaugural edition last year.A humanoid robot by Noetix Robotics competes during a 100m large-sized group preliminary race, following the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. (Reuters)In addition to athletics and football events, the Games also introduced new events including weightlifting, tug-of-war and table tennis, putting the robots' physical structures and core components to the test.Running from Saturday to Wednesday, the Games also expanded scenario-based competitions designed to simulate real-world applications, covering sectors such as logistics, hospitality and household services to help robots better integrate into people's daily lives.In April, a humanoid robot from Shenzhen Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd. won the Beijing E-Town half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds in autonomous navigation mode, beating the human world record of 57:20.A Tiangong humanoid robot competes during a 100m large-sized group preliminary race, following the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. (Reuters)As humanoid robot research and development continues to make breakthroughs, the "Ice Ribbon," where a world record was set during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, is now hosting another showcase of advances in humanoid robotics
