MIT’s Biomimetics Robotics department took a whole herd
of its new ‘mini cheetah’ robots
out for a group demonstration on campus recently – and the result is an
adorable, impressive display of the current state of robotic technology in action.
The school’s students are
seen coordinating the actions of 9 of the dog-sized robots running through a range of
activities, including coordinated movements, doing flips, springing in slow
motion from under piles of fall leaves, and even playing soccer.
The mini cheetah weights just 20 lbs, and
its design was revealed for the first time earlier this year by a
team of robot developers working at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. The mini
cheetah is a shrunk-down version of the Cheetah 3, a much larger and more
expensive to produce robot that is
far less light on its feet, and not quite so customizable.
The mini cheetah was
designed for Lego-like assembly using off-the-shelf part, as well as durability
and relative low cost. It can walk both right-side up, and upside down, and its
most impressive ability just might be the way it can manage a full backflip
from a stand-still. It can also run at a speed of up to 5 miles per hour.
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