The Ferocious Race to Build the World’s Fastest Robot Cheetah

MIT and DARPA have found themselves in a curious stand off, one that would’ve been unthinkable a few years ago. Each of the institutions, in their own unique way, are trying to build the world’s fastest four-legged robot. MIT has the latest entry–which is really more like a hearty round of trash-talking.

The university recently revealed details of a new hyper-efficient motor design that they say will eventually enable their cheetah-like robot to run faster than a real cheetah. I’ll believe it when I see the YouTube video, as the last we saw of MIT robot was a video of its first run released almost a year ago. (See below.) The technology does sound pretty impressive now, though, and actually applicable to more things than just trying to build a superfast robot.

In its own way, it’s the hybrid car of running robots. The 70-pound machine is about the same size as an actual cheetah, and reuses energy from the force of impact when the robot’s legs hit the ground. The engineers also cut down on energy loss from heat and friction by building a tightly packed engine with fewer gears.

Even outsiders are impressed by the set up. “The cheetah robot has really pushed the technology in efficient motor design, low-loss transmissions, and low-inertia legs,” University of California Berkley professor Ron Fearing told MIT News. “By combining these with the regenerative motor drive system, so that mechanical energy from the leg can recharge the battery, that in my opinion has made a huge difference in efficiency, [and] an important step forward in making efficient, electrically driven running robots.”

Based on all the praise, it would appear that MIT’s got the leg up in this fastest four-legged robot competition, but they’re not the ones showing startling proof of having built a fast robot. That honor goes to DARPA and Boston Dynamics, who together built a robo-cheetah that can run faster than any human being on the planet.

Nicknamed Cheetah, the four-legged beast looks pretty similar to the prototype MIT showed off last year except that it can run much, much faster. Nearly 25 miles per hour faster, to be exact. However, the machine in the lab still has to be connected to an external power supply, so you’re not going to be seeing this thing chasing down gazelles any time soon.

If you’re wondering why these institutions are scurrying to build these crazy cheetah-bots, the quick answer is war. Imagine you’re on a battlefield and need to get some medical supplies across no man’s land? Don’t recruit Private Jones to do it. He’s fragile. Send the virtually indestructible, super fast cheetah. DARPA’s also funding research on a slower, more robust four-legged robot called BigDog. BigDog works like a mule and can carry hundreds of pounds of gear for soldiers.

Those are DARPA’s goals, anyway. MIT’s scientists seem a little more focused on the disaster relief potential for these kinds of machines. Timmy fell down a well? Don’t send Lassie, Lassie doesn’t exist. Send the robotic cheetah which does exist, rather impressively. In fact, these days, you have your choice of four-legged robot.

Lead photo via MIT