Deborah Netburn (great Internet name) of the LA Times reports the following:
A new video released by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency shows the robot, inspired by the anatomy of a cheetah, running as fast as 28.3 mph before it trips and falls on what would be its face, if it had one.
If it’s any consolation, the robo-cheetah is only a bit faster than the human speed record holder: Bolt set the mark at 27.78 mph in 2009, during a 100-meter sprint.
And robo-cheetah has a way to go before it can outrun a real, living, breathing cheetah. A cheetah at the Cincinnati Zoo was recently clocked at 61 mph.
It should also be noted that the robo-cheetah has only been tested on a treadmill in a lab. It doesn’t carry its power source, and it has a boom-like device that holds it up and keeps it in the center of the treadmill.
DARPA said it will be testing out a prototype of the robotic cheetah on natural terrain sometime next year.
Read the rest of Deborah’s story here.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I for one welcome our robot overlords.
Why are the legs not alternating, they have a long way to go, it has to mimic a cheetah's legs in order to achieve faster speed.
Cheetah actually do sprint with front legs and back legs moving in unison, as opposed to alternating, at least when running at top speed. Their gait is probably has more in common with a jackrabbit than larger cats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIeXEiJuJUY
All quadrupeds use that gate. In fact the first "stop motion" cameras were used on horses to demonstrate this
Horses have four basic natural gaits -walk, trot, canter, gallop- appropriate to different speeds.
I'd be much more impressed if this robot walked and ran with different gaits.
Thats fast
That robot runs a bit faster then Usain Bolt
u don't say
I think Bolt's off the blocks faster.
That thing is so freaky it doesn't even need weapons to get the enemy runnin the other way!
Yes, but will it fetch?
Thanks Tad…I needed that laugh…
will it blend?
Looks like it fell on its butt instead of the face ? It should be called hyena due the long front and short hind legs.
Let’s see that ***** Linda Hamilton outrun this.
skynet?
yea Boston Dynamics!
http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_cheetah.html
Might be fast, but with that clunky gait it's never going to sneak up on anybody.
Cylons do not make good pets…..
And we are going to teach it to run down an enemy and eat him?
Why. . .I don't see Why?
Cheers
Needs guns.
Yeah Hadgi!! try in hit that fucker with an RPG!!! now all we need a lazor strapped to its freaken forehead…
*Hadji*…. sorry…got a little excited this morning.. and boom goes the dynomite…