Cheetah Robot To Be Powered By Batteries

This is not the first time that we have seen the cheetah robot from MIT, but what makes this particular robot so endearing to us would be the fact that it can run on batteries – and yet is capable of achieving speeds of up to 16 km/h, not to mention jumping approximately 40cm in height, and yet can land safely while continue on its run for at least another quarter of an hour. All of this, and it consumes less power compared to a microwave oven.

MIT professor Sangbae Kim shared, “In the next 10 years, our goal is we are trying to make this robot to save a life.” This particular robot would include powerful, lightweight motors, electronics which is capable of controlling power for its dozen motors, while there is also an algorithm that determines the amount of force a leg should exert during the split second that it hits the ground running – that being the main factor to help the robot maintain its balance and forward momentum.

Of course, there will be an onboard computer which is capable of organizing data from different sensors, sending commands to each motor so that the entire robot would move in perfection. There is work that is being done by researchers to tweak this prototype, so that the inclusion of additional sensors can make the robot autonomous in due time.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: cheetah, mit