Researchers at the Massachusetts of Technology (MIT) are reportedly working on a robot that takes inspiration from the world’s fastest land animal and operates using video game technology.
The robot dubbed ‘the cheetah’ has been designed to run on batteries at speeds of more than 10 mph, jump about 16 inches high, land safely and continue running for at least 15 minutes using even less power than an average microwave.
Claimed as the result of five years of research and hard work of MIT researchers, the Cheetah Bot includes 12 lightweight motors, an onboard computer that controls sensors, and an algorithm that calculates the amount of force each leg should exert while in motion to help the robot maintain balance and forward momentum.
“This is kind of a Ferrari in the robotics world, like, we have to put all the expensive components and make it really that instinctive,” said MIT Professor Sangbae Kim, who heads the school’s Biomimetic Robotics Lab that designed the robot.
“That’s the only way to get that speed.”
The researchers hope that the prototype will have real-world applications in the future, including the design of revolutionary prosthetics as well as development of wearable technologies and all-terrain vehicles. As for the robot itself, it is hoped that it could potentially be used in search and rescue operations in hazardous or hostile environment conditions where it’s impossible for a human rescuer to reach.
Researchers are even looking to tweak their prototype, to add additional sensors to the robot that would eventually make it autonomous.
“In the next 10 years, our goal is we are trying to make this robot to save a life,” Professor Kim said.
The ‘Cheetah Robot’ project is being funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
