Honor's Humanoid Robot "Lightning" Runs 100m in 9.32 Seconds, Beating Human Record
During the preparation for the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Honor's humanoid robot "Lightning" completed a 100-meter test run in 9.32 seconds, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 m/s. This time surpasses the human 100-meter world record of 9.58 seconds held by Usain Bolt. This achievement represents a major milestone in humanoid robotics locomotion, demonstrating that physical machines can now exceed the limits of human sprinting speed. It highlights rapid progress in combining advanced hardware engineering with embodied AI navigation. The robot's leg length was extended by 10 cm to 1.05 meters to increase stride length, while its body structure utilized topology optimization for weight reduction. For navigation, "Lightning" relies on a pure vision system with a hip-mounted camera for the 100-meter sprint, adding head-mounted lidar for the 400-meter race.
## BACKGROUND
Humanoid robot locomotion requires complex coordination of actuators to maintain balance at high speeds. Embodied AI refers to artificial intelligence systems embedded in physical bodies that perceive and interact with the physical world. Topology optimization is a computational design method used in robotics to optimize material distribution within a given space, reducing weight while maintaining structural strength.