The backflipping Cheetah 3 robot is fast , dynamic , and ultra - lightweight – and when you put nine of them together , they make for a pretty nifty association football team .
A new video share toYouTubeby Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) shows nine of the bots dashing through the university ’s Killian Court in an organized , militant course , prancing in place , jog back and forth , and even “ play ” football game . ( In this case , child’s play may be a relative term . Either way , tag us in ! )
Each four - legged robot weighs less than 9 kilogram ( 20 Irish punt ) , making it smaller and tripping than its predecessor , theCheetah 3 . The Mini Cheetah was first unveiled by MIT inMarchwhen telecasting showed it right itself after being kick to the ground and bemuse up a 360 - level backflip from a standing post . MIT engineers say their unique design is “ well-nigh indestructible ” and made of Lego - similar parts that are inexpensive and segregated . If a objet d’art of the robot breaks , it can well be remediate or replaced with electric motors and off - the - shelf parts .
With 12 Alfred Edward Woodley Mason jar - sized motors go by a handheld - remote , the Mini Cheetah is capable of trot over scratchy surface at an average rate of around 8 kilometers ( 5 mile ) per hour – that ’s double as riotous as a normal somebody can walk .
“ The rate at which it can alter forces on the ground is really fast , ” said steer developer Benjamin Katz , a technological familiar in MIT ’s Department of Mechanical Engineering , in astatementat the time . “ When it ’s run , its feet are only on the earth for something like 150 milliseconds at a time , during which a estimator recite it to increase the force on the foot , then change it to balance , and then lessen that force really fast to lift up . So , it can do really dynamic stuff , like jump in the air with every step , or ply with two feet on the ground at a time . Most robots are n’t capable of doing this , so move much dull . ”
In March , MIT developers announce their goal was to build 10 mini cheetahs , which the team says they will loan out to other labs for further experimentation .
