A robotic bipedal robot has set a new record for the fastest speed achieved by a machine on two legs. The robot, known as Cheetah, can run at speeds of up to 40 mph, which is significantly faster than the average human speed of around 25 mph. The Cheetah robot was developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The team says that its goal was not to create the fastest robot on earth, but to develop a machine that could outperform humans in terms of speed and agility. “Our ultimate goal is not to create the world’s fastest robot but to create a machine that can outperform humans in terms of speed and agility,” said study co-author Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro. “We believe that this technology has great potential for applications such as search and rescue missions, surveillance, and transportation.” While Cheetah’s record-breaking speed is impressive, it’s still no match for humans when it comes to running long distances. For example, the average human can run at speeds up to 30 mph for an extended period of time without becoming tired. In contrast, Cheetah can only sustain its high speeds for about 10 minutes before needing a break. ..
A bipedal robot named Cassie recently set a new Guinness World Record for the 100-meter dash. While it sounds like that might cause Usain Bolt to come out of retirement and strap them on again, the record is only a bipedal robot record, and the robot’s time of 24.73 seconds is nowhere near Bolt’s 9.58 seconds. Mine’s 185 seconds (including snack breaks).
A bipedal robot is meant to mimic the way a human being walks, and as a result can manage tasks in spaces normally designed for humans. Cassie features knees that bend like an ostrich (don’t tell ostriches) and blindly operates without cameras or external sensors, so it moves via remote control.
It was co-created by engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) and OSU spinout company Agility Robotics.
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“This may be the first bipedal robot to learn to run, but it won’t be the last,” said Jonathan Hurst, chief technology officer at Agility Robotics and a robotics professor at Oregon State.
Cassie isn’t just a one-trick pony, and in 2021 traversed 5 kilometers in just over 53 minutes.
The difficult part of the process isn’t necessarily the running, it’s starting and stopping the robot without it falling over and embarrassing everyone.
“Starting and stopping in a standing position are more difficult than the running part, similar to how taking off and landing are harder than actually flying a plane,” said OSU artificial intelligence professor Alan Fern.
So it may be a while before we see a Cassie vs. Usain Bolt showdown like we did with Deep Blue and Garry Kasparov.
