In April 2026, at Beijing E-Town, the humanoid robot “Lightning” from Honor crossed the finish line of the humanoid robot half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, sweeping the top six positions. After the race, what impressed engineers most was not the algorithm accuracy, but a detail many people overlooked: after running 21 kilometers, the robot’s outer shell still felt cool to the touch, while the temperature rise of its joint modules remained within the designed threshold.

Behind this achievement lies a true “materials revolution” spanning metals, plastics, and advanced composites. In a high-performance humanoid robot, every inch of its “bones” and “skin” reflects the material engineer’s delicate balance between specific strength, impact toughness, fatigue life, thermal management, and electromagnetic compatibility.