When it comes to hunting down humans running speeds, MIT's cheetah might come second to Boston Dynamics' own high-velocity quadruped, but by substituting pneumatics with motors, MIT's version apparently runs far more efficiently. At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, the Institute of Technology showed of its newest version, which reached a top speed of 13.7 mph. To accomplish this, the runner still needs parallel support bars to constrain movement in one dimension, reducing any roll, yaw -- and the chances of a pretty expensive fall. The team says the new version's cost of transport (COT is power consumption divided by weight, times velocity) is around 0.52. In comparison, Honda's Asimo has a hefty COT of 2.
This impressive efficiency is down to the use of electric motors over hydraulics, with a new "three phase permanent magnet synchronous motor" providing the necessary torque. Researchers also used biometric principles to conserve energy and reduce stress on joints, including Kevlar tendons across the back of the legs. With all those efficiency increases, it mean that MIT's cheetah can theoretically run while carrying its own power source. We've added a video after the break, where you can see the bot hit its top speed while carrying some battery dummy weights.
Filed under: Robots
Via: Spectrum IEEE
Source: MIT Biomimetics
While Boston Dynamics' Cheetah has already premiered, speeding along on its robot-friendly treadmill, we've now got a better glimpse at how the similarly DARPA-funded human-hunting obstacle-scaling Atlas fares, courtesy of its ancestor. That's the Pet-Proto you can see in the video below, balancing and leaping across narrow terrain, conducting its own "autonomous decision-making" and keeping upright -- all very important points for DARPA's own Robotics Challenge, a competition where winners will gain access to their very own modified version of the Atlas for future disaster response tests. Watch the Pet-Proto gradually advance towards camera right after the break. And we'll sleep with one eye open.
Continue reading DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you
DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Let's face it, we're doomed as a species, because one day, Boston Dynamics is gonna unleash its army of DARPA-funded droids and wipe us all out. The company's sprinting robot, Cheetah, has now broken the land-speed record for humans, clocking speeds of 29.3 miles per hour, meaning not even the 27.79mph Usain Bolt can escape. Fortunately for us, it's got a fatal flaw; a balance problem that means it can only remain upright with a boom keeping it steady. Unfortunately, that's not going to be a problem for long, since field-testing on an independently upright version begins early next year. We'd wish you sweet dreams, but, you know, we're too busy building an underground shelter.
Continue reading Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video)
Filed under: Robots
Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Remember the Cheetah robot, developed by Boston Dynamics for DARPA? It wasn’t long ago that the robot hit a top speed of 18mph, which seemed insanely fast for a hunk of metal with four legs. Now the quadruped ‘bot has smashed its own record, running faster than the world’s fastest man.
DARPA just posted video footage of Cheetah running at a top speed of 28.3mph for a 20-meter split, which is actually faster than Usain Bolt’s record time of 27.78mph. Granted, Cheetah was running on a treadmill, but I still wouldn’t ever want this thing chasing me down the street. There’s no way you or I could escape its hurtling mass. Check out Cheetah as it breaks its own land-speed record in the video clip below:
Just don’t ever give Cheetah any sort of stabby weapons, or else we’ll all be done for.
[via DARPA]
Four years ago, double amputee Oscar Pistorius -- aka the Blade Runner -- was battling bureaucracy (and his own ability) for the chance to compete in the Beijing Olympics. He might not have made the cut for China, but this time around he's secured his ticket to London. The South African athlete was already penned in for the 4 x 400 meters relay, and will now also compete in the singles 400 meters -- said to be his favorite distance. The South African Olympic committee made a last-minute decision to include Pistorius in the team, making him the first amputee track athlete to compete in the full Olympic games. An amazing achievement in its own right, but a race victory on top of the bureaucratic one would surely be the ultimate finish.
Continue reading Double amputee Oscar Pistorius will race in the London Olympic games
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius will race in the London Olympic games originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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