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See the New ‘Cheetah’ Robot That Now Runs Faster Than Usain Bolt

Sep. 6, 2012 9:45am Liz Klimas

The running robot developed by the Pentagon’s research arm DARPA and aptly named Cheetah for its speed was already the fastest robot on four legs, but now it has surpassed even Usain Bolt — the fastest human.

Cheetah recently was clocked running at 28.3 miles per hour in a 20-meter split, according to DARPA’s press release. Bolt’s 2009 world record, on the other hand, is 27.8 mph in a 20-meter split.

DARPAs Cheetah Hits 28.3 MPH in 20 Meter Split

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Jamaica's Usain Bolt (Photo: AP/Bill Kostroun)

Watch Cheetah achieve this feat:

DARPA acknowledges that Cheetah may have had a slight advantage though as it was running on a treadmill.

Constructed by Boston Dynamics for DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program — part of research for the Department of Defense — Cheetah is being uniquely studied because of its legs. As DARPA points out in its press release, most robots use wheels or treads, which are not as well suited for a variety of terrains. Although legs may have an advantage, coordinating mechanical legs is more difficult and they can be slow.

“Modeling the robot after a cheetah is evocative and inspiring, but our goal is not to copy nature. What DARPA is doing with its robotics programs is attempting to understand and engineer into robots certain core capabilities that living organisms have refined over millennia of evolution: efficient locomotion, manipulation of objects and adaptability to environments,” Gill Pratt, DARPA program manager, said in a statement. “What we gain through Cheetah and related research efforts are technological building blocks that create possibilities for a whole range of robots suited to future Department of Defense missions.”

Since Cheetah is designed for a smooth treadmill and part of the program goal is for movement natural terrain, Gizmodo reports Dr. Alfred Rizzi, chief robotics scientist at Boston Dynamics, saying the outdoor version — WildCat — will begin testing in 2013.

The ultimate goal for WildCat will be to “[move] freely outdoors while [running] fast,” Rizzi said.

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Comments (40)

sreksuhn
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 1:47pm
eventually it’ll run you down and take your gun.

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overhaul
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:11am
Wow!! So now we have a robot that can run faster than an Olympic sprinter. But we still can’t find and neutralize bombs buried in the ground that are killing and maiming our troops in Aghanistan. And this after almost eleven years. DISGRACEFUL !!!

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BlessedONE333
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 3:35am
FIRST OFF – it’s still tethered to the top and the side – so it’s not a real STAND ALONE TEST

Secondly, This thing would have crashed at the end, the thing is unbalanced – it’s a waste tax payer money, again

had it been really running, the crash at the end would more than likely k i l l the thing!

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ZaphodsPlanet
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:33pm
First problem I see with it is the proportions. Looks like they put the legs of a jack russell on the body of a lab. It’s totally off balance. The second issue I see is that I don’t know if Obama would eat it or not, which could effect it’s funding.

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nonliberal
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:55pm
Can it swim across a small creek or river?

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- Meyvn
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:22pm
  Or run without it’s tether? BFD.
  
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chickenfried
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 4:09pm
Kewl

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tomacz
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:02pm
wow,,,,send these guys out to starbucks, or deliver for jimmy johns

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freelancer91
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 2:12pm
I wish people would read the article and think for a second before posting whatever comes into mind.

Wheels are good for smooth predictable surfaces. However, there is only so much they can do on jagged and unpredictable surfaces like a swamp or a rocky canyon.

Our armies need to be able to be mobile on any terrain they encounter. For this reason, it makes sense to invest research into trying to mimic the method that nature chose. Walking is actually a surprisingly efficient way to get around. With time and research, what is clumsy and inefficient today could tomorrow be practical and efficient.

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Mr.Fitnah
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 1:34pm
Hey !!! why not try wheels?

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Tom
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 1:27pm
Its a lot greener than the real thing since it doesn’t fart or poop …unfortunately no matter how much seasoning you put on it it probably tastes like crap when BBQ-ed.

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John White
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:57pm
Skynet.

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FaithfulFriend
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:47pm
Put some wheels on it and it’ll do 180 mph and cost a ton less.

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- Bangstick
  Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:10pm
  Where is the fun of wasting taxpayer money in that?
  
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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:25am
Also, from what I remember, a real cheetah can run as fast as 75 MPH.

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Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:21am
What would this be used for? Catching bad guys, a bullet is far cheaper. It doesn’t look like it could stand on it’s own and doesn’t really extend it’s legs like a real cheetah. What’s it’s power source and is it really even feasible with a power source attached? Seems like a waste of money to me. I just don’t see the benefits.

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- THX-1138
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:46am
  A welding bot looks nothing like a human welder but it does a pretty good job of welding.
  
  Just sayin’…
  
  Report this comment
- Melika
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:53am
  While this type of research may seem useless, a lot of what can be learned can be used in many other fields. One application would be a mechanical appendage that moves normally and can interpret electrical impulses from the body, coupled with an on-board computer for finer functions. Another would be vehicles that could climb vertical structures or over terrain that wheeled vehicles can’t. These guys don’t just research movement, they need to understand how animals in the natural world move and then they have to figure out a way to program that. Brains are constantly making millions of calculations and micro-adjustments simply to walk (it is why growing children often fall – their brains haven’t made the changes resulting from growth). Understanding how movement is achieved and the physics behind it can (and has already) helped doctors understand and correct physical ailments from injury or stroke.
  These things are often touted as “need” or just “interesting” when in fact there is some very serious and helpful science being pursued. NASA wanted to create a fire-proof “styro-foam” and we got Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Those things are worth at least a few million dollars for simply awesomeness.
  
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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:06pm
  @THX
  
  A welding bot is stationary and attached to a large stationary power source. His point was, being mobile, what use would this thing be if it had to cart around its power source? Lacking a Mr. Fusion reactor coming into the equation, I’d tend to agree with his question.
  
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- goahead.makemyday
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:55pm
  I believe the point is that this isn’t a final result discovery. This is simply a gateway science, science that leads to more discoveries and more advancements. If we can follow through on more discoveries from this it will open the door to fully functional prosthetic limbs and robotics from EOD bots to space exploration. These people aren’t going to look at this when they suceed and say “how cool is it?” They’re saying “OK that worked great now what can we apply what we learned from this to other aspects of life” Most of our modern day comforts have been derived from some sort of military R&D.
  
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- freelancer91
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 2:07pm
  Read the article. Wheels can get stuck in certain terrains. They work fine on roads, but for the rocky and jagged terrain of places like Afghanistan, they can run into issues. The DoD is interested in making our forces more mobile in these unforgiving environments where wheels run into problems.
  
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- Kupo
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 2:08pm
  Anonymous T. Irrelevant has no understanding of the way scientific advancement works.
  
  Report this comment
gbgreta
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:18am
I wonder how well it holds up to a baseball bat?

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CapnBill
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:01am
It looks to me like it was stabilized from the back side as well. I don’t think the technology is all there yet, but its a great start.

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Wango
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:01am
How many people and how much government money did it take to “build that”?

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- Gonzo
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 3:10pm
  That thing is just like Obama, lots of strings attached.
  
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SamIamTwo
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:58am
DARPA is for dual purpose products…military and commercial.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:54am
Hate to say this blaze. but this knowledge of the Cheetah has been out for some time now.

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- Tyler520
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:01am
  It is under a constant state of development, and always making progress.
  
  Go take your weird ‘cat people’ to a children’s forum and let the adults talk
  
  Report this comment
The Jewish Avenger
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:22am
Well, we should see an order of robot chasers to chase down the protesting citizens any year now.

Average healthy sprinters speed

never trained sprinter 5 min/mile (1.25 minute 440) 12 MPH
high school world record solo mile 3 min 58.3 sec 15.31 MPH
college solo record Mile 3:min 52.44 sec 15.49 MPH
4×440 relay record High School 3 min:44.89 sec 16.01 MPH
4×400 relay record College 2 min 59.59 sec. 20.05 MPH
World Record for 20 METER SPRINT 27.8 MPH
Robot > 28 MPH and stable.

If we start getting robotic cops, we’re screwed.

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- THX-1138
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 11:44am
  It’s tough to shield a bot against an EMP.
  
  Nuff Said…
  
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- hidden_lion
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 4:25pm
  thx-
  do you have the ability to generate an EMP?
  
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Apple Bite
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 10:03am
Just shows how truly extraordinary the human body really is….

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SITDOWNANDSHUTUP
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:59am
Hmmmm…….put a little armor plating one the thing……beef up the legs…….add a camera and some weaponry and you’ve got the makings of a drone killing machine. Sort of like a UAV, only on the ground. Just set off a few dozen of these around the enemy’s camp and voila, the bad guys are toast and no soldiers were hurt. Of course, these could also be used to do the same thing here in America. Just sayin’………….it’s starting to look like a Terminator movie.

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- hidden_lion
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 4:26pm
  more like set em loose on American streets and rural areas to hunt down the patriots
  
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- DisposableWorker
  Posted on September 6, 2012 at 6:24pm
  This isn’t for “transport, and never will be. To “get around without wheels, try a new pair of combat boots. Its amazing how well it got us around without wheels! This thing is a weapons system. Counter measures… Think, “bag of marbles, or..long piece of clothes line? Or a rusty 1989 F150 with a snow plow on the front.
  
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ozchambers
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:57am
Anyone else notice the part fall off the cheetah at 0:14?

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:56am
….yeah….but can it run through mudpuddles and rain without shorting out???

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NCTRUTH
Posted on September 6, 2012 at 9:52am
SO how much creative design did this robot take to build. But the athiest would have us believe the human body which is 1000000 fold mor complicated just came from some oooozzzze in the universe. Ok got it

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