Record-breaking robots: machines that do the impossible!
Have you ever seen a robot play sports like a pro, solve a Rubik’s Cube faster than the eye can see, or run like a horse?
Around the world, incredible robots are breaking records and showing just how amazing technology can be!
These smart creations are proving that the future is full of incredible possibilities.
Let’s take a look at some of the world’s most record-breaking robots – and, if you want the full list, check out our latest book, Guinness World Records 2026!
Longest table-tennis rally with a robot
In 2021, a robot called Qiu took part in an epic table-tennis (also known as ping pong) rally against one of its designers, Ji Yunfeng (CHN), at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
In total, Qiu made 6,241 successful returns in around 2 hours, breaking the record for most consecutive table tennis counter hits with a robot.
But… how?!
This incredible feat was possible thanks to multiple cameras that enabled Qiu the robot to track the movement of the ball and accurately predict where it is going to bounce.
Could you beat Qiu at a game of ping pong?
Fastest robot to solve a puzzle cube
Check out this video… Did you even see the robot solving the puzzle cube in real time?
The fastest robot to solve a puzzle cube is 0.103 seconds and was achieved by Matthew Patrohay, Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, and Alex Berta (all USA) in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, in April 2025.
That’s faster than the blink of an eye!
Smallest humanoid robot
From the fastest, to the tiniest!
To achieve this record, the robot must be able to move its shoulders, elbows, knees and hips just like a human, in addition to being capable of walking on its 2 feet.
This cute robot, that is about the size of your palm, was created by a Japanese computer-science student, Tatsuhiko Mitsuya, in April 2024.
It measures just 57.6 mm (2.26 in) from the soles of its feet to the top of its head, and it can be controlled over Bluetooth!
Pretty cool, right?
Farthest basketball shots by a humanoid robot
How would you like to shoot hoops with a robot as your teammate?
Well, this might be closer to reality than you think!
The CUE3, a robot created by Toyota Motor Corporation and Alvark Tokyo (both Japan), holds the record for the farthest basketball shot by a humanoid robot – 24.55 metres (80 ft 6 in).
That’s about 2 school buses long!
Fastest 4-legged robot
And now, check out this 4-legged robot called Whiterhino that can run at lightning speed!
It was developed by Center for X-Mechanics, Zhejiang University in China and it holds the record for the fastest 100 metres by a quadrupedal robot, with an amazing 16.33 seconds.
Go for a little run, and see if you can run faster than Whiterhino!
To inspire you, here is a video of the previous record holder in action – this is HOUND, who ran the same distance in 19.87 seconds…