cheetah
Latest
Soft robots can now run like cheetahs and swim like marlins
The days of sedate soft robots could soon come to an end thanks to a novel robo-spine developed by researchers at North Carolina State University.
MIT's Mini Cheetah robot knows how to do backflips
MIT's original Cheetah robot is already quite nimble on its feet, but there's now a smaller counterpart that might put it to shame. Researchers have shown off a new Mini Cheetah that can pull off a number of slick moves, including backflips -- it's the first four-legged robot to pull off the feat, according to MIT. It can also walk upside-down Exorcist-style, pick itself up after falls and trot at a relatively brisk 5.5MPH on less-than-smooth terrain.
MIT's Cheetah robot doesn't need eyes to climb, run and jump
Many robots depend on cameras and other visual sensors to find their way around the world. But that's not always realistic -- it can be too dark, too chaotic or even play tricks. Thankfully, MIT is prepared. The latest version of its Cheetah robot, Cheetah 3, can run, climb and even jump using contact detection alone -- effectively, while it's blind. The cat-like automaton relies on a pair of algorithms to both 'feel' its way around (much as you would feel your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night) and figure out the best way to move forward.
Six robots inspired by real-life animals
By Cat DiStasio Many scientific and engineering developments were lifted right out of nature, but none more so than robots built to act like real-life animals. Biomimicry is the term for innovations like these, which draw inspiration from the power of nature to solve the toughest human problems. Robots can take on some pretty unlikely tasks, from pollinating flowers as bee populations decline to detecting pollution in waterways. Other robots are designed purely for fun, like this 12-legged robot that walks like a crab and is powered by the sun.
Oh no: MIT's Cheetah robot can jump over hurdles while running
MIT's scientists spent years making the Cheetah robot a more efficient runner. Now that's done, its creators probably thought it was time to give it a major upgrade: the metal quadruped can now autonomously jump over hurdles like a trained horse. Yes, it can automatically detect and leap over multiple objects while it runs -- even without a tether. The scientists claim it's the "first four-legged robot" to be able to do so, and we'll bet they'll train it further to leap over much higher walls, as well as give future machines the same ability. Now where can we hide?
MIT's electric Cheetah robot silently bounds across campus
We've seen MIT's super-fast four-legged Cheetah bot sprint on a treadmill many times, but it seems that the team at MIT is finally ready to let the thing outside. Now, quadrupedal bots traversing hill and dale are nothing new, but the Cheetah's doing so using a new algorithm and without the benefit of an internal combustion engine or hydraulics. That algorithm determines the amount of force the bot's custom high-torque electrical motors deliver, which in turn controls how fast the robot runs and how high it leaps. Using this force-based approach, the Cheetah is more stable and agile, according to the boffins at MIT, and it can maintain its balance as the speed of its gait increases. Not to mention that the electric motors are quiet, so instead of an exhaust note, you only hear the pitter-patter of robot feet. This all adds up to a robot that can silently bound across uneven ground and even jump over obstacles. It's not as fast as its furry namesake... yet, but you can hear from its creators and see its bounding baby steps in the video after the break. [Image Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT]
Boston Dynamics frees its four-legged sprinting robot: Cheetah becomes WildCat (video)
The last time we saw the sprinting "Cheetah" robot, our fear for the future of humanity was soothed slightly by the knowledge that it remained tethered to the offboard hydraulic pumps it relied on for power. Now, Boston Dynamics is taking the chains off of its world record holder and letting the next generation of sprinter run, called WildCat. As shown in the video after the break, it's already capable of bounding and galloping across flat terrain at speeds of up to 16mph. We don't know what kind of power WildCat is running on, but unless its energy drains faster than a Sega Game Gear on Christmas Day, 1991, things are looking bleak. Update: We checked with Boston Dynamics, and it confirmed the WildCat runs on a 2-stroke go-kart engine, directly coupled to a hydraulic pump. Right now, it has a small fuel tank to keep the weight down, and is capable of running for about five minutes.
MIT's cheetah robot runs faster, more efficiently, can carry its own power supply (video)
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.
DARPA's Pet-Proto robot climbs, balances, jumps, comes to get you
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.
Boston Dynamics' Cheetah robot will hunt you down faster than any person (video)
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.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius will race in the London Olympic games
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.
Boston Dynamics Cheetah and Atlas robots get DARPA funding, getting ready to find you
Okay, so it may not look quite as impressive as some other mechanical cheetahs we've seen in the past, but this new one from Boston Dynamics certainly has a lot of potential. That robot, plus a new humanoid called Atlas, have won DARPA contracts and so will be put into at least limited production, much like the company's earlier BigDog. Cheetah is said to run "faster than any existing legged robot and faster than the fastest human runners," while Atlas can "move through difficult terrain using human-like behavior," meaning neither running nor hiding will work. That leaves only fighting, so get ready to buck up. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
NVIDIA GTX 480M will bring Fermi to laptops this June, crazy power requirements and all
We had an inkling NVIDIA wouldn't keep the Fermi goodness just to the desktop and here's our first pseudo-official confirmation. Rushing in ahead of any announcements, Eurocom has started listing a GeForce GTX 480M part, replete with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and a $345 markup relative to ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5870. It's not clear whether the 100W number refers to the TDP or power requirements of NVIDIA's new GPU, but it's safe to expect both to be pretty high. The MXM 3.0b interface provides a 256-bit linkup between the GPU and CPU, lending plenty of bandwidth, but it also demands plenty of PCB real estate. As a result, Eurocom is offering the GTX 480M on its 17-inch Cheetah and Panther and 18.4-inch Leopard desktop replacements, but not on its 15.6-inch Cougar. Man, no love for the Cougars. According to the listing, we're only a month or so away from release. [Thanks, Jacob]
World of Warcraft Patch 3.2 Mounts Guide
WoW.com has covered patch 3.2 extensively. Everything from the surprising changes to flying mounts, to the latest and greatest loot, and all the changes in between. In our patch 3.2 class, raiding, and PvP guides we take a look at exactly what changes and how the changes will affect your playing.Patch 3.2 is here, and there is a whole herd of mount changes stampeding into your stables. Here's a quick rundown of just what's changed about all the things you ride in patch 3.2, from updates to when you can buy mounts and for how much, new tweaks to old mounts like the Ulduar Proto-drakes and the TCG items, and brand new mounts like the hippogryphs from the Argent Tournament and the long-awaited Ravasaur.
Mechanical cheetah comin' atcha!
Actually, it's just a sculpture with articulated joints, but by all the gods of steampunk, it looks glorious. The product of 60 hours' labor and a selection of used transmission parts, disemboweled household appliances, and 20-gauge steel, the mechanical cheetah stands 24 inches tall and 50 inches long. It looks like a stripped down robocat skeleton, and its joints can be maneuvered to mimic the movements of the real feline or to strike some downright awesome poses. Hit the source link for video of the mech cheetah simulating a run, as well as creator Andrew Chase's thoughts on the project, or click past the break for more images -- including a bonus snapshot of a mech giraffe.
Cheetah Ultra Sports reinvents the snowboard, wants $1899 for it
We've already seen the skateboard get re-engineered this year, so why not its most closely related, snow-loving cousin? Cheetah Ultra Sports has apparently developed the Whip F-117 after four solid years of research, development and taking oodles of time off to hit the slopes. In short, it's dubbed the Lamborghini of snowboards, promising to make riders go faster, feel lighter, turn quicker, edge harder, carve sharper and be broker. Yeah, we're just kidding on that last one, though the $1,899 price tag may just disagree. The board is only available in limited quantities due to the hand built nature, and obviously you'll have a difficult time trying one before you buy. So, what say you? The next big thing in boarding, or the next piece of hype sure to flame out in short order?[Via BeSportier]
Oscar Pistorius fails to qualify for the Olympics
It seems like the endless legal struggle to be allowed to compete in the Olympics took its toll on cyborg sprinter Oscar Pistorious -- he didn't qualify for the South African Olympic team on Wednesday, after failing to run the 400 under the 45.55 second minimum required to make the trip to Beijing. Interestingly, Pistorious's 46.25-second time was his best ever, even though critics claimed that the double-amputee's "Cheetah" prosthetics allowed him to use only 25 percent of the energy used by traditional runners. That's not the last we'll see of Oscar, though -- he says he's happy with his season's results, and he'll be back to try out for the 2012 Games in London.
Snow Leopard might not be the best code name
The great Mental Floss blog actually did the research on something that occurred to me as soon as Steve said "Snow Leopard" during the keynote -- naming an OS after a cat "sometimes known as the ounce" might not be the best idea.File this stuff in the "didja know" column: snow leopards aren't actually leopards -- they're actually closer in family to cheetahs, which means that the new OS might be a little closer to Aqua than we're all comfortable with. Also, they're pretty timid -- not only can they not roar (so new audio features in the OS are out), they're known to hide behind their fuzzy tails. We'll put it this way: you wouldn't exactly want to call your football team The Snow Leopards, so we're not quite sure why Steve decided to use the moniker.Finally, the weirdest tie here is that the snow leopard as a symbol is already taken -- by the Girl Scouts of Kyrgyzstan. Of course, Steve's naming capabilities haven't really been up to snuff lately, and maybe he just didn't want to go with Cougar -- even though Apple owns it, they may not have been ready to take on all the connotations associated with that particular nomenclature. Then again, maybe this will be good for the snow leopard's image -- after seeing all these pictures of cool cats, if you feel you'd like to help them out, we're sure the Snow Leopard Trust would be happy to hear from you.
Oscar Pistorius free to qualify for Olympics on prosthetics
Good news for the cyborgs in the crowd: the ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations that barred double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorious from a shot at the Olympics has been overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Detractors from Oscar's entry into the Olympics have cited a suspect study that says Oscar could be using as little as 25% of the energy of other sprinters, thanks to the mechanical advantage of his "Cheetah" prosthetics, which basically act as springs. Others feared that this could set a dangerous precedent for the entry of bionics into athletic competition, but the ruling was rather tightly worded, and if related cases come up they will be tried individually. Of course, Oscar still has to qualify, and his personal best in the 400 is about a second off the qualifying time for Beijing. Even if he can't make it, he plans try for the world championships and the London Olympics in 2012.
