Unitree’s ‘Superman’ robot surpasses Usain Bolt’s peak speed in promotional video

Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled its new humanoid robot, which it has named “Superman.” According to the promotional video shared by the company on social media, the robot reached a speed of 12.66 meters per second, surpassing the 12.2 meters per second peak speed recorded during Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record run.

This speed, which corresponds to approximately 45.5 kilometers per hour, is notable for demonstrating the level reached in the field of humanoid robot mobility. In the video, it was also seen that the robot could jump to a height of 2 meters from a standing position.

Unitree reported that “Superman” is still in the development phase and will be further improved in the coming months. The company introduced the new model to the public after a short development process of only three months.

The timing of the launch is also noteworthy. It is stated that the company aims to strengthen its position in the field of robotics ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai STAR Market in mainland China. Having raised 6.1 billion yuan, approximately 904 million dollars, last week, the company is expected to be one of the first general-purpose robotics companies to be listed on the stock exchange in China.

Unitree robots had previously stood out at robotics events. The robots, which won four gold medals in the 400-meter, 1500-meter, 100-meter hurdles, and 4x100-meter relay races at the first games last year, were able to reach a speed of 4.78 meters per second at that time. The announced performance of the new model reveals the progress the company has made in a short time.

The launch coincides just before two major robotics events to be held in Beijing. For this reason, “Superman” is being evaluated not only for its speed record claim but also as a showcase demonstrating China’s competitive power in humanoid robot technology.