Unitree’s Newest Humanoid Can Reportedly Beat Usain Bolt’s Personal Record
China’s Unitree Robotics has unveiled a new humanoid robot dubbed Superman, and it can reportedly run faster than Usain Bolt. It’s also been shown to jump about 6.6 feet high from a standing position, making it terrifying in multiple ways.
After what it claims was only “a little over three months” of development, Unitree’s new robot reached a top speed of 12.66 meters per second, or 28.3 miles per hour. That’s faster than the roughly 12.42 meters per second (27.8 miles per hour) measured during Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world record in 2009.
We can’t know for certain whether Unitree’s Superman would beat Earth’s fastest human runner in a race, however. Unitree has not released independent timing records, raw test data, or details about the distance, surface, acceleration, and timing equipment used during its test. The company also has not shown that the robot can maintain 12.66 meters per second across a full race, or whether it simply peaks at that speed during what ends up being a slower race.
But a jump is a little easier to prove, and at two meters, this robot’s jump is scarily impressive. That’s a vertical jump from rest, not a leap with a running approach.
Independent testing will be needed to verify the above performance claims. Also, Unitree didn’t indicate that Superman could do anything particularly productive, but did say there is “significant room for further improvement in the coming months.” Whether those improvements will be to the humanoid’s athletic capabilities or productivity isn’t yet known.
