Robot Cheetah's New Speed Record Spotlights DARPA's Battlefield Bots (VIDEO)

By: InnovationNewsDaily Staff
Published: 03/05/2012 05:37 PM EST on InnovationNewsDaily

A cheetah robot funded by the U.S. military has broken the land speed record while running on a lab treadmill. Its robotic display of athleticism gives hope for new battlefield robots that could prove nimbler than existing robots on wheels or tanklike treads.

The cheetah robot's record-breaking sprint appeared in a new video posted by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) today (March 5). Its top running speed of 18 mph (29 kph) is faster than the average human jogger, but still lags behind top human speeds of nearly 28 mph (45 kph) — perhaps a relief for anyone fearing a world where robots can outrun their human overlords.

Such a performance also pales next to real-life cheetahs that represent the world's fastest land animal by reaching eye-watering speeds of 70 mph (112 kph). Still, the robot's ability to mimic the cheetah's natural stride by flexing and unflexing its back on each step allowed it to beat the previous record of 13.1 mph, set in 1989.

The test marks an early milestone in the U.S. military's quest to create more mobile robots capable of going where legged human soldiers can go. DARPA has funded the cheetah robot made by Boston Dynamics alongside a Flamingo- or Velociraptor-shaped robot inspired by an MIT design.

Boston Dynamics has also created a four-legged, headless "LS3" robotic mule designed to haul 400 pounds of gear for human soldiers on a 20-mile trek without refueling. That represents a larger version of the company's "BigDog" robot that gained Internet fame in viral videos showing its ability to stay on its legs despite kicks from human tormentors.

The cheetah robot cannot roam free from the lab like the robotic mule just yet — it remains tethered to a hydraulic pump and an overhanging device that keeps it running in the center of the treadmill. But tests of a free-running version are scheduled for later this year.

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Comments

[StateofDominion]

01:28 PM on 03/11/2012

I first heard about cheetah based machines in The Keepers WWIII. That's written a few years back so it referenced the BigDog robot mule. The book doesn't talk about robots so much as four-legged cavalry vehicles, the new tanks, driven by humans. Though it's a sci fi, it references a lot of present day facts to get it's point across. I know it was hard for me too make the inductive leap into seeing a four-legged mule machine could one day be built like a cheetah. The BigDog, when I looked it up, was so gangly that I couldn't see a nimble cheetah machine coming out of it. Yet, here it is. Now I'm a little freaked about the other stuff talked about in the book

[shredder203]

05:02 PM on 03/13/2012

@ state I've read The Keepers trilogy too but never put the two together. lol. You're totally right. The Panzer machine was a lot like the Robotic Cheetah. These things are actually happening and I'm scared to death. What if they put one of those Cheetah's in space, like the Mars Rover. That would by sick! Robotic Cheetahs on Mars! LOL!

[StateofDominion]

11:51 PM on 03/13/2012

If you recall in the second book there is the battle of Olympus Mons, where the Apex Aries quadrupedal battlemachines go up against the Raptor bipedal battlemachines. The DARPA ostrich bot discussed on the related article seems like the precursor to the Raptor. And of course that battle took place on Mars in the book

[Cristancho]

09:40 AM on 03/08/2012

A robot that can backpedal faster than a human presidential nominee? Republicans may need to rethink their strategy.

[StateofDominion]

01:10 PM on 03/11/2012

Now that deserves an lol

[surlyguvna]

07:49 AM on 03/08/2012

So...if we need robotic backward running cheetahs...call DARPA? I think I'll keep Michael Bay on my speed dial instead but thanks Darpa for all your hard work...maybe next time you can get it to run forward.

[apennylane2007]

07:49 PM on 03/07/2012

Robotic cheetahs. The only cheetahs that will remain for us to see, if things don't change in Africa.

[pakaal]

03:38 PM on 03/07/2012

Humans can still outrun it. For now.

[sunoftime]

12:10 PM on 03/07/2012

Transformers...robots in disguise.

[DCGeorge76]

08:18 PM on 03/06/2012

It took them 23 years to pick up 5mph? I think we're safe for awhile.

[StephenJK]

02:15 AM on 03/07/2012

That's exactly what I thought when I read the previous record was set in '89. LOL But, technology impoves exponentially. In 2 years they may be able to improve it to run at twice the speed they have it now. Which would easily be faster than any human can sustain a pace for more than a few hundred yards. The problem with these things is the energy solutions. How are they powered? Robotics is making leaps and bounds now, no pun intended. Energy solutions? Not so much.

[Wall Str33t]

06:17 PM on 03/06/2012

A robot with a spine that almost bends and breaks as it runs slower than most people's top speed. It's actually a masterful job. Keeping that thing running and stable and powered is a serious feat of robotic engineering.

Hey am I commenting on the DARPA robot or Mitt Romney's campaign now? Not easy to tell is it?

[Abnormal Wrench]

05:25 PM on 03/06/2012

As soon as we get miniature cold fission, that'll be useful.

[DCGeorge76]

08:21 PM on 03/06/2012

As soon as we get cold fission that produces half as much as it consumes we can start working on miniaturization.

[J0E1]

04:24 PM on 03/06/2012

5mph in 23 years?!  Wow! how is that possible?

[onionboy]

02:53 PM on 03/06/2012

I can't get that $6-Million Dollar Man music out of my head.

[Skip Mendler]

01:28 PM on 03/06/2012

Okay, go grab your copy of "FAHRENHEIT 451" and re-read the bit about the "Mechanical Hound"...!

[SwiftJonathan]

02:48 PM on 03/06/2012

That's a great book... and movie. But a "real hound" is perfectly efficient at getting the job done. An unarmed person who is not trained against dogs is basically defenceless against a well trained dog. It's not even close to being a fair fight. Even the experts on the topic seem to agree that in the best case scenario the dog goes down and the man defending himself is going to the emergency room.

Not to mention that dogs have sensory capabilities and a situational awareness that is, so far, unmatched by any machine.

[Bogey907]

12:40 PM on 03/06/2012

Why is it running backwards?

[CSKAP]

11:59 AM on 03/06/2012

I'm sure the guys at "Sky Net" are excited about this step.

[Paul Frederick]

10:48 AM on 03/06/2012

It sure is cooler than that dumb Asimo robot the Japanese made that creeps up stairs.

[SwiftJonathan]

11:59 AM on 03/06/2012

Why is that? You can go ten times faster with ease simply by putting wheels on. In the realm of engineering this machine solves a non-existing problem. The Asimo robot targets a very real problem: the aging population of Japan that will need robotic helpers because they don't have enough nurses and are culturally not open enough to invite foreign workers. It may sound weird that they would actually develop robots rather than getting nurses from the Philippines... but that is why Honda is spending so much money on Asimo.

[darth geekboy]

01:51 PM on 03/06/2012

battle terrain can be rough, and wheels can be a detriment to mobility.

if i were the military, i would want a tank that can move on ANY terrain. DARPA is already funding research for this kind of mobile unit that can work on various forms of surfaces. if they can get it to move quickly as well, why not?

and i've read research somewhere that has shown that mobility is more energy efficient on 4, even 6, legs than using wheels.

[StateofDominion]

01:43 PM on 03/11/2012

The top speed of this machine is not it's advantage. A biomimicry machine will be far more agile than a wheeled or tracked vehicle ever could be. Even if the wheeled vehicle is going far faster, it can't turn very fast, and when it does it's in a predictable arc. On the other hand, if you look at how a cheetah runs for instance, you'll see it can zig zag, dodge almost every which way, even semi-backwards. Biomimicry vehicles also have an instant acceleration that nothing else can match, allowing them to suddenly pounce. Conventional vehicles will not stand a chance on the battlefield. And I'm talking about vehicles instead of robots cuz I just read about four-legged cavalry in The Keepers WWIII.