The robot was developed as part of DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program, or M3 by Boston Dynamics. This is the fastest running robot with legs in the world with 18 mph.
MSNBC reports that the “cheetah” robot has smashed the previous record of 13.1 mph for the legged robots and he previous record holder was Planar Biped robot, which was built at the MIT Leg Lab in 1989.
Even though it appears as running backwards, the ability to flex its body like other animals is an amazing design invention.
“The robot’s movements are patterned after those of fast-running animals in nature,” stated a news release on DARPA’s website . “The robot increases its stride and running speed by flexing and un-flexing its back on each step, much as an actual cheetah does.”
But there's still a long way to go before the robot to catch up an actual cheetah, which can run at a speed of upto 75 mph. A video of the robot released by
Boston Dynamics is embedded below.
DARPA writes on its website:
“The use of ground robots in military explosive-ordinance-disposal missions already saves many lives and prevents thousands of other casualties. If the current limitations on mobility and manipulation capabilities of robots can be overcome, robots could much more effectively assist warfighters across a greater range of missions. DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program seeks to create and demonstrate significant scientific and engineering advances in robot mobility and manipulation capabilities.”