Chapter 2: Speaking of Superman

Unitree has unveiled a humanoid robot with an unusually direct name:
“Superman.” The Chinese robotics company says its new prototype can
jump two meters straight up from a standing start and sprint at 12.66 meters
per second—about 45.6 km/h. If those numbers hold up, they would exceed
the corresponding human records. More striking still, Unitree says the
machine was developed in a little over three months, a reminder that the
pace of progress in embodied AI is beginning to look more like software
than traditional industrial machinery.

The important story is not that a robot may now run faster than a person. It
is that locomotion—the hard, physical problem of balance, force, perception,
and real-time control—is advancing rapidly. For years, humanoid robots
have been impressive mainly as carefully staged demonstrations. A
machine that can generate this kind of explosive, stable movement points
toward robots that can eventually operate in places designed for people:
stairs, warehouses, disaster sites, construction zones, hospitals, and
homes.

“Superman” is still a prototype, and its headline performance figures are
Unitree’s claims rather than independently verified results. But the direction
is clear. As robots become faster, steadier, and cheaper, the real question
shifts from whether they can move like us to where they will create the most
value alongside us. The next phase of robotics will not be about replacing
human beings; it will be about extending human capability in work that is
dangerous, repetitive, physically demanding, or simply beyond our reach.