Humanoid Robot Is the 'Fastest In the World' Thanks To Pair of Sneakers

AmiMoJo shares a report from Live Science: Scientists have demonstrated a new humanoid robot that can run at a top speed of just over 8 miles per hour (mph) -- or 3.6 meters per second (m/s) to be exact. This makes it the speediest machine of its kind built so far, albeit these speeds were only achieved with the help of added footwear. STAR1 is a bipedal robot built by the Chinese company Robot Era that's 5 feet 7 inches (171 centimeters) tall and weighs 143 pounds (65 kilograms).

Powered by high-torque motors and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the footwear-donning STAR1 navigated different types of terrain, including grassland and gravel, while jogging on paved roads and earth, and sustained its top speed for 34 minutes. A top speed of 8 mph means it beat Unitree's H1 robot -- which set the previous speed record for a bipedal robot at 7.4 mph (3.3 m/s) in March 2024. Although STAR1 had the help of footwear, H1 was not technically jogging or running as its feet did not both leave the ground at once during transit. You can watch STAR1 racing through the Gobi Desert here.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.