A Chinese research team has introduced a full-size humanoid robot capable of sprinting at speeds of up to 10 metres per second, placing it ahead of most human runners.

Named “Bolt” after Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt, the robot was developed by the Humanoid Robot Innovation Research Institute at Zhejiang University’s Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Centre, working with local robotics startups Mirror Me and Kaierda. Standing 175 centimetres tall and weighing 75 kilograms, Bolt closely mirrors human proportions while pushing the limits of bipedal motion.

Developers say the project represents a major advance in robot locomotion control, dynamic balance and high-performance drive systems. In a treadmill test, the red-painted humanoid raced against institute head Wang Hongtao, maintaining shorter strides but a much faster cadence.

Wang said the goal was not record-breaking alone, but building technologies that approach, or even surpass, the biological limits of human movement. The team previously set a quadruped speed record in 2025 with its “Black Panther” robot.

Source: China Central Television