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MIT's Robotic Cheetah Runs Free - And Frolics In The Grass
Do you remember MIT's extremely fast robotic cheetah? Well, now it runs untethered!
(MIT's Robotic Cheetah Runs Free)
Researchers from MIT have developed a new algorithm that allows the robot to bound around a running track and in open spaces at the Institute.The cheetah is able to jump due to the programming of each of its legs to exert a certain amount of force at the time the legs hit the ground.
Sangbae Kim, a professor at the institute, said: “Most robots are sluggish and heavy, and thus they cannot control force in high-speed situations,”
“That’s what makes the MIT cheetah so special: You can actually control the force profile for a very short period of time, followed by a hefty impact with the ground, which makes it more stable, agile, and dynamic.”
I used the word "frolic" in the headline because sf fans might be concerned, thinking about the slamhound from William Gibson's 1986 novel Count Zero:
THEY sent A SLAMHOUND on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chandni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW through a forest of bare brown legs and pedicab tires. Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT.
Via Factor-Tech; thanks to Winchell Chung for the tip on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/16/2014)
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