A robotic cheetah build by serial robot nightmare-unleashers Boston Dynamics which can run at more than 30 mph in the lab is scary enough. But once you've worked out how to unleash it and set it free outside in the real world you've really got our attention.
Our haunted, fragile attention.
This latest test by the DARPA-funded US researchers involves a self-supporting, running four-legged robot which can reach 16mph outside, in the real world.
It's not as fast as the 28-mph version which Boston Dynamics still has in the lab, but it's fast enough. And as ever with BD, if they're showing this version on YouTube you can bet they have something far, far better behind closed doors. Its ultimate destiny is unclear, but if recent announcements are anything to go by it will have something to do with the military...
BD said:
"WildCat is a four-legged robot being developed to run fast on all types of terrain. So far WildCat has run at about 16 mph on flat terrain using bounding and galloping gaits. The video shows WildCat's best performance so far. WildCat is being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA's M3 program."