China Shines at Robot Games, But Real Revolution Remains Behind the Scenes

The second World Humanoid Robot Games have wrapped up in Beijing, drawing over 2,000 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries. The event, which featured 51 disciplines and more than 1,300 competitions, highlighted significant advancements in robotics, particularly in speed and jumping capabilities.

Robots like Tiangong Ultra from X-Humanoid achieved a 100-meter sprint time of 9.39 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt's world record. Another robot, Lightning, also broke the human record, clocking in at 9.32 seconds in a pre-event test. High jump records were also shattered, with robots clearing heights of 2.88 meters from a standstill, far exceeding the human world record.

However, the games also revealed the limitations of current humanoid robot technology. While robots performed well in tasks like running, they struggled with finer motor skills, such as hammering a nail. Bram Vanderborght, a professor of Robotics at VUB, explained that the design for robots excelling in sprinting differs significantly from those built for high jumping, indicating specialized development is still required.

Despite these impressive displays, the widespread integration of humanoid robots into daily life is still some way off. China is a dominant force in the global robotics industry, holding the most patents and producing 97 percent of all humanoid robots shipped worldwide in the first half of 2026. Yet, the technology is expected to improve gradually rather than leading to an immediate robotic revolution in homes.

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But a robot that can sprint fast cannot jump high and vice versa.