BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright-red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The bipedal humanoid, developed by smartphone maker Honor, blazed

Overseas buyers take a photo at the Canton Fair venue held in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province on April 19, 2026. Photo: VCG Standing in the middle of a massive crowd, all waiting eagerly to play badminton with a humanoid robot at the 139th Canton Fair, I couldn’t help but recall the star products of

Robots were trailing behind their human rivals a year ago, but one humanoid outpaced the entire field to run a half-marathon faster than even the quickest human. BEIJING, China — Humanoid robot technology has greatly improved in the past year, and a race Sunday proved just how far the science has advanced.  Just a year