Bolt, a new full size humanoid robot from China, has stunned engineers by clocking a sprint speed of 22 mph, roughly 10 meters per second, in real world tests. Matching the pace of elite human sprinters, the machine has instantly reset expectations for how fast a bipedal robot can move while keeping its balance. Built as a platform to chase human level athleticism rather than a slow, cautious helper, it signals a sharp turn in how robotics labs are thinking about the bodies that will share our workplaces and streets.
Instead of inching forward with careful steps, Bolt barrels ahead at a velocity that would challenge most amateur runners and even many professionals. The achievement is not just a party trick, it is the result of a deliberate push by a Chinese team and its startup partners to fuse high power actuators, advanced control software, and lightweight materials into a humanoid frame that can handle the brutal physics of sprinting.
From lab project to 22 mph sprinter
The story of Bolt starts with a collaboration between Zhejiang University in China and several Hangzhou based startups that set out to prove a humanoid robot could run faster than 10 meters per second without falling apart. According to descriptions of the project, the group treated speed as the central design goal, not an afterthought, and built a full size biped that could withstand the pounding forces of a sprint while still looking and moving like a person. That effort culminated in a machine that now sprints at 22 mph, a pace that allows it to outpace humans in a straight line dash.
To turn that research prototype into a headline grabbing product, the academic team partnered with Chinese robotics startup MirrorMe Technology, which has now unveiled Bolt as a full size humanoid it describes as the fastest of its kind. The company says the robot is not a scaled down toy but a true adult sized platform, and it has presented Bolt as the centerpiece of a new generation of agile machines. In its own materials, the startup emphasizes that Chinese robotics startup built Bolt specifically to push the limits of humanoid motion.
Built like a sprinter, not a warehouse worker
Physically, Bolt is sized to mirror a human athlete, which is crucial to understanding why its speed matters. Reports describe the robot as Standing 1.75 meters tall and weighing 75 kilograms, dimensions that put it squarely in the range of a human sprinter rather than a compact lab robot. That scale means every stride involves real inertia and impact forces, which in turn makes the 10 meters per second top speed a far more demanding benchmark than the same number on a tiny research platform.
MirrorMe has also highlighted that Bolt is a full size humanoid robot with a top speed of 10 m/s that has set what it calls a new world record for this class of machine. The robot was officially unveiled by the Humanoid Robot Innovation Research Institute of the Zhejiang University team, working alongside MirrorMe and another partner, Kaierda, as part of a broader effort to create the fastest humanoid robot to date. That institutional backing underscores that Humanoid Robot Innovation Zhejiang University group sees Bolt as a serious research platform, not just a marketing stunt.
How Bolt actually hits 10 meters per second
Reaching 10 meters per second on two legs requires more than just powerful motors, it demands precise control of balance, foot placement, and energy transfer at every fraction of a second. MirrorMe has said its focus on speed began long before its formal founding, and that it has treated high velocity running as a core engineering challenge rather than a side project. The company describes Bolt as the product of years spent refining actuators, control algorithms, and mechanical design so that the robot can accelerate, maintain pace, and decelerate without catastrophic wobble, a process detailed in its account of how Additionally high speed tests were conducted.
Independent descriptions of the robot note that MirrorMe has unveiled Bolt with a verified peak running speed of 10 meters per second in real world testing, a figure that translates to roughly 22 mph and that has been repeated across multiple technical summaries. Those same accounts emphasize that the robot is not just fast in a straight line but also stable enough to complete its runs without external supports, which is why observers describe it as the fastest full size humanoid robot in the world. In one breakdown of the launch, the company is quoted as saying that MirrorMe has unveiled as a platform that can be further tuned for even more demanding maneuvers.
Usain Bolt’s namesake and a founder left in the dust
The choice of name is not subtle. Chinese coverage notes that the machine was explicitly named after Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter whose world records redefined human speed, and that the project team wanted to evoke that same sense of athletic dominance. One report describes it as the World’s fastest humanoid robot unveiled and given Usain Bolt namesake, a framing that underlines how the engineers see their creation as a direct homage to the fastest man in recorded track history. In that context, the branding around World and Usain Bolt is less hype than a statement of intent.
The human comparison has already gone beyond naming. In one widely shared account, observers note that the world’s fastest humanoid robot just beat its founder at 22 mph, or 36 km/h, in a head to head sprint, a moment that neatly captured how far the technology has come. That anecdote, in which the machine leaves its own creator trailing behind, has become a shorthand for the broader shift from simulated performance to physical dominance in the field. The same description stresses that the world’s fastest humanoid its own builder, a narrative detail that has helped Bolt capture public imagination.
China’s sprint into humanoid leadership
Bolt’s debut is also a geopolitical statement about where cutting edge humanoid robotics is being developed. Official accounts from BEIJING describe a Chinese team unveiling a full size humanoid robot capable of running at 10 metres per second, and they frame the project as part of a national push into advanced robotics and AI. The same reports stress that the breakthrough was achieved by a Zhejiang University team in China working with Hangzhou based startups, underscoring how academic labs and private firms are aligning around high profile projects like BEIJING.
Chinese commentators have been quick to point out that Bolt is not just a lab curiosity but a symbol of the country’s ambition to lead in humanoid platforms that can eventually work in factories, logistics hubs, and even public spaces. One detailed profile notes that Bolt was designed as a technological platform aimed at approaching human athletic performance, with a focus on advanced control and high power drive systems that could later be repurposed for more practical tasks. That same account describes Standing Bolt as a showcase for the country’s broader robotics ecosystem.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
