The machines ran at different speeds before crashing into a soft landing pad and falling over at the end of the race. Staff members then had to carry one of the robots away on a stretcher.

The 9.32 second performance beat the time set by Usain Bolt.

Honor’s ‘Lightning’ clocked 9.32 seconds in a Beijing test, state media reported, after engineers lengthened its legs ahead of the World Humanoid Robot Games