A recent breakthrough has been achieved by a Zhejiang University team in China, in collaboration with Hangzhou-based startups. They have developed a humanoid robot capable of running 10 meters per second, effectively outsprinting most humans.
The new Chinese robot has been named “Bolt” in honor of Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt. This achievement represents a pivotal advancement in robot movement control, dynamic balance, and high-performance drive systems. The head of the institute and founder of Mirror Me, Wang Hongtao raced against the red-painted Chinese robot Bolt on treadmills. A viral clip circulating on social media shows the new robot taking shorter strides than a human yet closing in on the speed of sprint legend Usain Bolt by maintaining a much higher cadence.
Earlier, the team set an incredible record for quadruped robots in 2025 with its “Black Panther” which reached speeds of more than 10 meters per second.
Beijing has hosted the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games where the Tien Kuang humanoid robot remarkably won the 100-meter face with a time of 21.5 seconds.
These kinds of performances have intrigued audiences regarding what humanoid robots are capable of achieving in the future.