BEIJING: Scientists in China have unveiled a humanoid robot that has set a new speed record by running at just over 8 miles per hour (mph), or precisely 3.6 meters per second (m/s). This achievement has positioned the robot, known as STAR1, as the fastest of its kind, although the speeds were attained with the assistance of specially designed footwear.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, STAR1 is a bipedal robot created by the Chinese company Robot Era. Standing at 5 feet 7 inches (171 centimeters) and weighing 143 pounds (65 kilograms), this robot has demonstrated its capabilities in various terrains. In a promotional video, two STAR1 robots competed against each other in the Gobi Desert. One of the robots was equipped with sneakers, which allowed it to achieve speeds that surpassed its shoeless counterpart.

The robot, powered by high-torque motors and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, successfully navigated different surfaces, including grassland and gravel, while maintaining its to
p speed on paved roads and uneven earth for a duration of 34 minutes.

STAR1’s record-breaking speed of 8 mph eclipses that of the previous record holder, Unitree’s H1 robot, which reached 7.4 mph (3.3 m/s) in March 2024. Unlike STAR1, the H1 robot did not truly run or jog, as its feet never left the ground simultaneously during movement.

The STAR1 robot is equipped with AI hardware capable of 275 trillion operations per second (TOPS), as stated on Robot Era’s website. This processing power far exceeds that found in many high-performance laptops, which typically range from 45 to 55 TOPS. Additionally, the robot features 12 degrees of freedom, indicating the number of joints and variety of movements it can perform.