Physical AI Milestone: Flash Robot's 50:26 Half-Marathon

A humanoid robot named Flash, developed by Honor's Robotics Division, has achieved a world-first in physical AI. In a sanctioned event in Beijing, Flash completed a 13.1-mile course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, shattering the existing human world record by nearly seven minutes.

RL-Based Gait Optimization

Flash does not use a pre-programmed running cycle. Instead, its locomotion is governed by an End-to-End Reinforcement Learning (RL) model trained in Nvidia Isaac Gym. The model continuously adjusts for wind resistance, surface friction, and internal temperature, maintaining a sub-4:00 minute-per-mile pace without the mechanical fatigue that limits biological athletes.

Actuator & Battery Breakthroughs

The achievement was enabled by high-torque density quasi-direct drive actuators and a new Graphene-Silicon battery pack that provides the necessary burst power for the high-frequency impacts of running while keeping the total weight under 55kg.

Beyond Athletics

The success of the Flash project demonstrates that physical AI agents have reached a level of dexterity and endurance suitable for high-speed industrial logistics and emergency response roles that require human-like mobility with non-human speeds.