Just signed up for your first 5K? Feeling proud of that sprint you took around the block? For that matter, are you proud of your running ability at all? Then you may not want to watch this video, unless you’re an Olympic-level athlete.
A robot designed by the boffins at DARPA — the Pentagon-based skunkworks that gave rise to the Internet and the driverless car, among other breakthroughs — has effortlessly set a new land-speed record for robots. Called the Cheetah, this metal speed demon can run at 18 miles an hour.
The previous best for a robot? 13.1 mph, set in 1989.
Humans have the Cheetah bested, but only a very tiny number of us. Even if you can run a four-minute mile, you’re still not cracking the 15 mph mark.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt can still hold his head up high — he holds the world record for the fastest sprint speed ever recorded, which is 27.79 mph, with a small assist from a tail wind. Then again, that was just over a 100-meter distance.
Humans are remarkably slow runners compared to many four-legged mammals; what we excel at is endurance. As anyone who has read the barefoot running classic Born to Run knows, big cats like the cheetah (the non-metallic kind) will all stop when their bodies hit a certain temperature. Unlike us, they don’t cool themselves with sweat.
This robotic Cheetah may face a similar overheating problem; we’d like to see it maintain that speed for 26.2 miles. And how far can it run on a single battery pack?
We look forward to seeing where DARPA can take this machine next — and to the day it qualifies for the Boston Marathon.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, amygdala_imagery
Source: Mashable
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