M.I.T. researchers have developed a robot cheetah that they say may soon be faster than its real-life counterpart. The 70-pound robot can trot for up to 90 minutes at 5 miles per hour with motors that can be programmed to adjust the robot's legs depending on the terrain. It's remarkable, they say, because of its ability to do this all without wasting very much energy.
Sangbae Kim, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, tthat the highly energy efficient robot may be useful for emergencies where emergency workers would be in danger--like the Fukushima Disaster.
“There are so many ways to design, and each legged robot has a different system,” Kim said. “If you design the motor properly, it’s more powerful, simpler robotics.”