Second edition of World Humanoid Robot Games gets underway in Beijing

The second edition of the World Humanoid Robot Games officially got underway at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Saturday, as more than 1,000 mechanized entries demonstrated their capabilities in the Chinese capital.

A China-developed robot headlined the first day after clocking a time of 9.39 seconds in the 100-meter dash, surpassing the world record of 9.58 seconds posted by legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in 2009. A Beijing-built entry also cleared 2.8843 meters in the standing high jump, exceeding Swedish athlete Rune Almen's human record of 1.90 meters set in 1980.

The robots also demonstrated their competitive prowess in other sports, including tennis, table tennis and football. The Games are scheduled to feature 51 events and 1,301 competitions, attracting 666 teams and 2,056 mechanized entries from around the world. The number of teams marked a 138 percent increase over last year's inaugural edition.

Running from Saturday to Wednesday, this year's World Humanoid Robot Games also expanded the number of scenario-based events designed to simulate real-world applications in logistics, hospitality and household services, with the aim of helping better integrate automated creations into people's daily lives.