Cheetah bot can hit 18MPH, a new land record for “legged robots”
Technologists from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are showing off what they say is the fastest legged robot. The “Cheetah” robot is capable of galloping at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour (mph), which set a new land speed record for legged robots. The previous record was 13.1 mph, set in 1989, DARPA stated.
The robot’s movements are patterned after those of fast-running animals in nature, DARPA says. The robot increases its stride and running speed by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step, much as an actual cheetah does. The current version of the Cheetah robot runs on a laboratory treadmill where it is powered by an off-board hydraulic pump, and uses a boom-like device to keep it running in the center of the treadmill. Testing of a free-running prototype is planned for later this year.
The cheetah is part of DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program which is looking to develop and demonstrate scientific and engineering advances in robot mobility and manipulation capabilities.
