Autonomy on the Street

Beijing kicked off the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games with a dramatic opening in the Ice Ribbon arena, where a humanoid robot on a robotic horse fired an arrow as the Zhixin intelligence chip lit up. The ceremony showcased autonomous performances, including a 9.39-second 100m sprint and a 288.43 cm high jump by the X-Humanoid team’s Tien Kung Ultra, as robots competed alongside humans in over 50 events. A total of 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries participated, with a broader program and stricter autonomy rules requiring most events to be completed without human control. Taishan Sports supplied equipment adapted for robotic use, underscoring the rapid growth of robotics across industries and sport.

A 404 Media investigation tracked a shipment of a scarce, pre-ISBN book to Amazon’s LAS8 facility in Las Vegas and uncovered a separate operation, VGT3, where workers cut spines and scan pages—likely to train AI models—tracked by an AirTag inserted into the book. Amazon says it buys books to develop its products, but hasn’t confirmed the use, and the piece places the finding in a broader history of investigative tracking and a 2025 fair-use ruling on digitizing bound volumes.

SpaceX, Tesla and Intel formalized Terafab, a 100-million-square-foot, vertically integrated AI chip fabrication campus in Grimes County, Texas, with a potential total investment up to $119 billion and an initial target of $16.8 billion. The plan envisions a single site for logic, memory, packaging and testing capable of producing 100–200 billion chips and over 1 terawatt of AI compute annually, signaling a shift in the “compute landlord” thesis as SpaceX moves toward building its own silicon supply chain for robotics and autonomous systems. However, IPO filings describe Terafab as a general framework with no binding commitments and Intel’s exact role remains undisclosed. The project includes about 3,000 construction jobs and 1,800 permanent positions, plus a $30 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant, but feasibility and competitiveness versus established foundries like TSMC remain uncertain for years to come.

Elon Musk reaffirmed plans to start production of Tesla’s Cybercab in April 2026—the third time he’s pinned this timeline—highlighting a slow initial ramp for the pedal-free, steering-free two-seat ride-hailing vehicle that aims to undercut $30,000. The project faces regulatory hurdles from NHTSA and reliability questions around FSD, with analysts hedging Tesla’s longer-term prospects.

A new slang term—meat proxies—is spreading to describe coworkers who copy AI chatbot outputs verbatim without editing, fueling worries about cognitive offloading and eroding critical thinking at work and in classrooms. The piece urges users to read, understand, validate, and rewrite AI-generated text to add value, and it echoes Cory Doctorow’s “reverse centaur” idea that humans can reclaim agency—AI is a tool, not an inevitability.

At the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, sprinting robots briefly beat the human 100m record yet crash or catch fire, underscoring rapid gains in whole-body control but clear limits in autonomy. The event showcased tasks from laundry and library shelving to firefighting and package delivery, highlighting commercial potential while many tasks remain teleoperated or require extensive multi-trial learning. Industry observers note that true autonomous, general-purpose robots are still years away despite billions invested, with cloud AI and 5G links shaping progress.

At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Tiangong Ultra ran the 100 meters in 9.39 seconds and Lightning 9.47, beating Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record; Tiangong Ultra also posted a 38.16-second 400m, as the event — described as a robot Olympics — features thousands of robots from dozens of countries, with sprinting bots often crashing into cushioned walls rather than taking a victory lap.

Chinese regulators order nine automakers, including Tesla, to recall 4.3 million vehicles — about 3 million Teslas — to fix retractable electric door handles that may fail if the 12-volt system is disrupted and to install interior warnings plus a software update that lowers windows in a crash; a separate recall for 2.74 million Teslas will update the driver-monitoring software after reports of defeating the system with a doll’s head in front of the cabin camera, using the interior camera to better track driver attention, highlighting China’s push to raise EV safety standards.

Chinese humanoid robots at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing set new marks, posting a 9.39-second 100-meter sprint and a 2.88-meter standing high jump that surpass human records, including Usain Bolt’s 9.58s and Javier Sotomayor’s 2.45m. With about 2,000 robots across 51 events, the five-day competition showcases China’s robotics progress amid U.S.-China tech tensions, though experts say such feats are demonstrations and not ready for mass deployment.

Beijing kicked off the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games with a dramatic opening in the Ice Ribbon arena, where a humanoid robot on a robotic horse fired an arrow as the Zhixin intelligence chip lit up. The ceremony showcased autonomous performances, including a 9.39-second 100m sprint and a 288.43 cm high jump by the X-Humanoid team’s Tien Kung Ultra, as robots competed alongside humans in over 50 events. A total of 666 teams and 2,056 robots from 16 countries participated, with a broader program and stricter autonomy rules requiring most events to be completed without human control. Taishan Sports supplied equipment adapted for robotic use, underscoring the rapid growth of robotics across industries and sport.

Ukrainian drones struck Russia overnight, killing at least six people and hitting an Ozon logistics center in Chapayevsk, Samara region; Kyiv said it also targeted the nearby Novokuibyshevsk refinery. Strikes wounded residents in Yeysk, Belgorod and Bryansk, while Moscow said it intercepted 457 drones. The clash spilled into eastern Ukraine as civilians were reported killed in Luhansk.

A humanoid robot named Lightning, developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor, ran 100 metres in 9.32 seconds at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, reaching a peak speed of 14.5 m/s and reportedly beating Usain Bolt’s human 100m world record of 9.58s. The robot stands about 1.69 m tall, with leg length adjustments to 1.05 m for the event; Lightning also won the Beijing Half Marathon in 50:26, underscoring China’s push to lead in robotics and AI applications.

In Beijing, humanoid robots showcased at the city’s robot games, breaking performance records in events such as weightlifting and tug-of-war and drawing cheers from spectators. The competition features participants from about 16 countries, underscoring rapid progress in humanoid robotics and AI, though experts say mass real-world deployment remains years away and that robots are still mainly used for demonstrations, research, and exhibitions.

Chinese humanoid robots at the opening of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing set records, including a 9.39-second 100m dash and a 2.88-meter high jump, beating Usain Bolt’s human marks; the event showcases rapid robotics progress but experts say mass deployment remains years away.

Unitree Robotics' new 'Superman' humanoid can perform a standing high jump of about two meters and run at 12.66 meters per second, surpassing human records. Built with roughly 40 joints and advanced AI for balance and articulation, the robot (alongside G1 and H2 models) has been showcased in a Chinese New Year demonstration and highlights China's rapid leadership in humanoid robotics; the article notes prior Chinese record feats and mentions a Unitree G1 listed at $17,990 on Amazon.

A 404 Media investigation tracked a shipment of a scarce, pre-ISBN book to Amazon’s LAS8 facility in Las Vegas and uncovered a separate operation, VGT3, where workers cut spines and scan pages—likely to train AI models—tracked by an AirTag inserted into the book. Amazon says it buys books to develop its products, but hasn’t confirmed the use, and the piece places the finding in a broader history of investigative tracking and a 2025 fair-use ruling on digitizing bound volumes.