Beijing —
They were trailing behind their human rivals a year ago. But on Sunday, an android outpaced the entire field to run a half-marathon faster than even the quickest human.
Lightning, a running robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor, finished the 21-kilometer run in Beijing in a stunning 50 minutes and 26 seconds, beating the human world record by more than six minutes.
The human record – of 57 minutes and 20 seconds – is held by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo, according to World Athletics.
Swinging its short forearms for balance, the bright-red humanoid, standing 169cm tall, showed no sign of having to slow down as it dashed past the finish…