India, Sept. 1 -- Amidst a spectacle at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing a few days ago, a robot called Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 8.64 seconds. Usain Bolt's human world record is 9.58 seconds. The Tiangong Ultra is made by Chinese robotics company X-Humanoid. Let that sink in for a moment, because there's more. The company made another robot that cleared 2.88 metres in the standing high jump. It cannot be technically said to have broken the 2.45 meter record set in 1993 by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor because that was achieved using the Fosbury Flop running approach. The robot did a standing jump.

A few clear takeaways have emerged in recent days. We've reached a stage in evolution where humanoid robots are more athletic and f...