Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

DARPA's Robo-Cheetah Is Now Faster Than Usain Bolt

Posted by samzenpus on from the greased-lightning dept.

pigrabbitbear writes "The Boston Dynamics Cheetah just clocked a 28.3 miles per hour sprint on a treadmill, and it's heading outdoors soon. At that speed, it could edge out the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, in a dead sprint. (Bolt peaked at 27.78 miles per hour in his world-record-setting 100-meter dash back in 2009.) 'To be fair, keep in mind that the Cheetah robot runs on a treadmill without wind drag and has an off-board power supply that it does not carry,' admitted Boston Dynamics in a press release. 'So Bolt is still the superior athlete.' Nevertheless, the team hopes to drop these implements and have a freestanding speed bot by early next year. They're calling that model the WildCat."

5 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Wow a machine faster than a human. by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow! our advancement in technology to make a machine that and travel faster then a human! Amazing. Perhaps we can make a machine that can fly too.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Wow a machine faster than a human. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I suspect that much of the interest is also because of our persistent desire to more efficiently perform rescue operations and/or slaughter the locals in some downright hostile terrain.

      Just as a pick-and-place provided with precise instructions and reels of neatly packaged and identical components can out-assemble a factory worth of nimble-fingered children; but couldn't beat a single freshman nerd at 'dig through the junk box and breadboard something', wheeled vehicles run like a bat out of hell on the terrain we lovingly build for them; but work increasingly poorly outside of that. At the cost of size and weight, larger wheels and/or tracks can muscle the problem a bit; but there are limits.

      Legs, on the other hand, are mediocre at moving fast over well behaved terrain; but scrambling up mildly alarming slopes composed of loose rubble is practically routine...

    2. Re:Wow a machine faster than a human. by Dyolf+Knip · · Score: 4, Interesting

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting

      It's called Persistence Hunting, and it's awesome. There was a David Attenborough-narrated video of it on youtube that has been taken down, but basically they chase the animal for hours and hours. Being able to run isn't enough, you have to be able to quickly track it as well when it's out of sight. The upshot is that when you finally run it down, it's half dead with exhaustion already, and you can literally walk right up to it, spear in hand, and kill it.

      It's also a possible explanation for our relative hairlessness. Sweating apparently works better for cooling on bare skin.

      --
      Dyolf Knip
  2. Re:Why is there an arm on the far side... by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Informative

    Or perhaps they didn't want the robot accidentally hurled into the back wall at 30mph?

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  3. Where do I sign up? by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is there a number I can call to be placed on the national "Do not kill" registry?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”