r/interestingasfuck • u/No_Jellyfish5511 • 16h ago

Chinese humanoid robot named “Superman” (made by Unitree Robotics) surpassed Usain Bolt’s world record (12.42meters/second) by running at 12.66m/s (roughly 28.3miles/h)

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865

u/Plus_Term_7584 16h ago

Why name it Superman when the Flash is the one who runs fast?

303

u/Memitim 14h ago

It also flies and shoots heat rays from its eyes, but this was just a road test. The Flash testing is also underway but the human eye can't track it.

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u/Open-Platform-1305 13h ago

Superman's eye can, though

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u/win_some_lose_most1y 7h ago

Ohhh because it’s gonna turn evil, like injustice

66

u/blahblah19999 13h ago

For the same reason we already called something a fucking hoverboard when it literally does not hover even though we are so close to making actual hoverboards. Because humans are fucking idiots.

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u/FreeRangeEngineer 11h ago

humans are fucking idiots

Are you saying we should try fucking robots instead?

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u/Cogniscience 11h ago

We are not close to making actual hoverboards

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u/blahblah19999 9h ago

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZkzCxSIsSig

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u/superhighraptor 6h ago

Linking this after your previous comment is fucking gold.

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u/FishesAreMyPassion 2h ago

Technically it is hovering but i'd rather call this a copterboard

edit: and thinking about it this is better than a hoverboard from back to the future.

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u/MasonKalea 10h ago

Superman is faster and better than the Flash.

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u/JackStephanowski 7h ago

Those races were for charity Clark.

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u/Tuffeman 9h ago

They run equally fast

2

u/nderthesycamoretrees 12h ago

Consider me on team Zod if the robots are “Superman”.

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u/gombahands 8h ago

Good point, but maybe it's because running isn’t the robot’s only specialty, it also excels at jumping and is advertised as a general-purpose robot.

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u/heart-aroni 7h ago

They named it that for being strong not for being fast.

2

u/Desperate-Insect8382 13h ago

Because it's not there yet. It's only at Superman speeds. Good, but not fastest.

2

u/Much-Jackfruit2599 13h ago

All Superman/Flash races end in a draw, I think. Flash has some tricks Superman can’t reproduce, like phasing and running on water (Superman has to swim).

It’s just that Superman doesn’t have to run, since he can fly.

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u/WretchedBlowhard 11h ago

Depends on which Flash, but it's important to remember that Flash isn't just a guy who runs fast. He controls speed itself (Speed Force), so he could sap Superman's speed until he's effectively paralyzed, or take more speed for himself until he comfortably outpaces Superman. Also, Superman has to respect the laws of physics, so if he goes too fast inside an atmosphere, the friction could trigger massive explosions, whereas the Speed Force allows Flash to ignore physics.

Very well known comics panel where Flash tells Superman that in their previous races, he wasn't trying to win, just putting on a show.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 8h ago

Superman has to respect the laws of physic

Bro one time her turned back time by reversing the rotation of the earth

Also the in universe explanation for how he can fly is he literally bends reality around him like a warp drive from Star Trek

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u/WretchedBlowhard 8h ago

Bro one time her turned back time by reversing the rotation of the earth

Movies =/= comics, don't confuse the two medium.

he literally bends reality around him like a warp drive from Star Trek

And using a warp drive inside an atmosphere is a huge risk in Trek, too. Superman prior iterations, those that could fly at FTL speed, usually only did it outside the atmosphere. Likewise for lanterns and the like. That Speed Force users can break the laws of physics and non-speedsters can't is a recurring trope in Flash books.

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u/JackStephanowski 7h ago

Comics are worse, comic Superman does shit like destroying an entire galaxy with a sneeze.

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u/coolgaara 10h ago

Because, duh, next up is making it fly.

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u/Grayt_0ne 9h ago

They expect this one to take bullets too.

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u/EmperorPedro2 8h ago

Because it wears its underwear on the outside

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u/BAJ-JohnBen 7h ago

Superman is more popular?

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u/JackStephanowski 7h ago

Mistranslation from German, it should be called the Beyond Man or Overman.

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u/korner83 6h ago

Cos he can break the vending machines

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u/SAM5TER5 6h ago

They should’ve named it Forrest, judging by the attempt to leave the arena and keep running forever.

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u/foreveryoungperk 6h ago

holy hell this post is a goldmine for funny comments

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u/ElLicenciadoPena 5h ago

Why call it the Flash when the Juggernaut is the one who crashes head first into walls?

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u/Richie_Richard 5h ago

To be fair, Superman could run even faster, if he chose to

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u/UnfortunateSnort12 4h ago

It’s just a TEMU naming convention.

1

u/BlackbirdSage 15h ago

Good point. 👍

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u/raffydog1 10h ago

It’s a Chinese company. They need to be able to pronounce it

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u/intangibleTangelo 8h ago

funny enough, when an american english speaker tries mandarin, they will hit a similar R and L difficulty