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On August 25, 2026, the standing high jump final at the second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing came to a close, with one humanoid robot emerging from a field of nearly 20 robots that had qualified for the final by clearing a 3.4-meter bar from a standing position, winning the title and setting a new record for the event. According to reports, the event was specifically designed to test robots' leg power, balance, and landing control, making it one of the most closely watched competitions at this year's Games.

The standing high jump has now been included in the World Humanoid Robot Games for two consecutive editions, but its rules differ from a traditional track-and-field high jump — robots do not run up to the bar; instead, they leap from a stationary standing position, clear the bar in the air, and complete a controlled, cushioned landing, which is why Chinese media often refer to it as the "standing high jump" or "jump-in-place high jump." Chinese outlets compared the result to the men's high jump world record: Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor's world record of 2.45 meters, set in 1993, which remains unbroken to this day. By that measure, the robot's 3.4-meter result exceeds this human record by nearly a meter. It should be noted, however, that a robot's standing jump and a human's high jump — which relies on a run-up to build momentum — differ significantly in how force is generated, joint structure, and judging criteria, so a direct comparison between the two is more symbolic than a strictly like-for-like measurement.

Notably, the 3.4-meter final result was not the only figure broken at this year's event. According to public reports, the same robot model had already cleared 2.8843 meters during the Games' qualifying rounds and earlier public testing sessions, before improving further to 3.4 meters in the final. By comparison, at the first World Humanoid Robot Games held in Beijing in August 2025, the best result in this event was only 0.95641 meters. In other words, in less than a year, the best standing high jump result for humanoid robots has increased by more than 2.4 meters — more than tripling — reflecting rapid iteration in robots' leg actuation units, motion control algorithms, and overall structural design within a short period.

Multiple media outlets and on-site videos indicated that the robot that won this year's high jump title belongs to the "Tiangong" series, specifically the "Tiangong Ultra" model, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (branded internationally as X-Humanoid). Founded in November 2023, the center is China's first provincial-level humanoid robot innovation center, jointly established by companies and research institutions including Xiaomi Robotics, UBTECH, Jingcheng Machinery and Electronics, and the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a focus on core humanoid robot technology, full-machine product development, and building an application ecosystem. The center's earlier "Tiangong" robot was the world's first full-size, purely electrically driven humanoid robot capable of stable running, with a walking speed of up to 12 kilometers per hour and the ability to adapt to various complex terrains; in April 2025, "Tiangong" also competed in a humanoid robot half-marathon held in Beijing, making it one of the earlier models to undergo long-distance, high-intensity field testing. In February this year, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center officially unveiled its next-generation general-purpose humanoid robot platform, "Tiangong 3.0," which is reportedly set to enter mass production and delivery in the second half of 2026 — meaning the center's technical accumulation is rapidly moving from record-setting demonstrations on the competition field toward market-scale products.

Besides the high jump, "Tiangong Ultra" also stood out in this year's 100-meter sprint event. According to CGTN, the robot repeatedly broke its own record over the course of the competition: first clocking 9.39 seconds, then improving to 8.86 seconds, and finally posting a Games-record 8.64 seconds in the final showdown on closing day — a time already faster than human 100m world record holder Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds. The back-to-back record-breaking performances in the high jump and sprint were seen by many outlets as a clear illustration of simultaneous progress in China's humanoid robots' motion control, power actuation, and overall structural stability.

This year's Games were held in Beijing from August 22 to 26, marking the second edition following the inaugural event in 2025. Besides the high jump and 100m sprint, the Games also featured finals in numerous other track and skill-based events during the same period, including a 400m obstacle race. According to official announcements, a total of 666 teams and more than 2,000 humanoid robots from around the world took part, with 51 major events and over 1,300 contests staged — a substantial increase in both scale and number of events compared to the first Games. On the overall medal table, Shanghai-based robotics company AGIBOT topped the rankings with 18 gold, 16 silver, and 12 bronze medals (46 total), excelling in dexterous manipulation, scenario-based tasks, and obstacle races. Meanwhile, Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, which had swept four gold medals in track events at the first Games, saw a marked decline this year — its robot ran the 100m qualifying heat in 12.41 seconds and had not won any track-and-field medal as of August 23. This shift in rankings also reflects how intense competition and how fast technology is iterating within China's humanoid robotics industry.

The successive record-breaking performances in the high jump and sprint at this year's Games are a microcosm of the rapid growth of China's humanoid robotics industry in recent years. In February this year, China released its first standard system covering the full industrial chain and entire lifecycle of humanoid robots and embodied AI — the "Humanoid Robot and Embodied AI Standard System (2026 Edition)" — marking the industry's entry into a new stage of standardized development. In June, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission jointly launched the "2026 Special Action for Real-World Training and Application of Humanoid Robots and Embodied AI," which calls for humanoid robots and other key products to complete application verification and achieve routine deployment in representative industrial, service, and specialized-task scenarios by the end of 2026, with the capacity for deployment at a scale of tens of thousands of units. Industry data shows that as of 2025, China had more than 140 humanoid-robot-related companies, with annual shipments of about 14,400 units accounting for 84.7% of the global market share, and a market size of about 35 billion yuan — which institutions project could exceed one trillion yuan by 2030. Embodied AI has now been included in the government work report for two consecutive years and has been designated one of the strategic emerging industries prioritized under China's 15th Five-Year Plan.

From an industry perspective, the significance of competitive events like the high jump and sprint is not limited to record-breaking itself, but lies in providing high-intensity, quantifiable testing scenarios for core technologies such as robot leg structure, drive systems, and balance control algorithms — helping companies and research institutions accumulate large volumes of real-world motion data in a short time to feed back into product iteration. Several participating companies stated that the technical capabilities validated at the Games will gradually be applied to scenarios closer to real-world needs, such as industrial material handling, emergency rescue, and specialized inspection, rather than remaining confined to stadium demonstrations. Analysts also caution that although robots have surpassed human records in specific metrics such as jump height and sprint speed, this reflects engineered capability for particular tasks rather than a general superiority over human athletes' overall athletic ability — robots' joint motors can repeatedly deliver peak torque according to preset parameters without concerns over muscle fatigue or injury, a basis for comparison that differs fundamentally from human athletes, who rely on neuromuscular systems built up through years of training. For humanoid robots to truly move toward large-scale practical application, continued breakthroughs are still needed in battery endurance, manufacturing cost, reliability, and safety — the high-intensity athletic performances on display at this year's Games are, more than anything, a snapshot of one stage in that long process of industrialization.