FEB 17, 2015 3:22 PM PST

MIT Robotic Cheetah

WRITTEN BY: Greg Cruikshank

MIT researchers have developed an algorithm for bounding that they've successfully implemented in a robotic cheetah.

The key to the bounding algorithm is in programming each of the robot's legs to exert a certain amount of force in the split second during which it hits the ground, in order to maintain a given speed: In general, the faster the desired speed, the more force must be applied to propel the robot forward. In experiments the robot sprinted up to 10 mph and MIT researchers estimate the robot may eventually reach speeds of up to 30 mph.

The MIT Cheetah 2 contains the custom electric motor designed by Jeffrey Lang, the Vitesse Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT and the amplifier designed by David Otten, a principal research engineer in MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics.
About the Author
Bachelor's (BA/BS/Other)
With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience at various Life Science & Biotech Companies, Greg Cruikshank is leveraging his professional and entrepreneurial skills running the internet company Labroots, Inc. Labroots is the leading scientific social networking website, offering top scientific trending news and premier educational virtual events and webinars. Contributing to the advancement of science through content sharing capabilities, Labroots is a powerful advocate in amplifying global networks and communities. Greg has a passion for reptiles, raising various types of snakes and lizards since he was a young boy. This passion has evolved into starting the company Snake Country. At Snake Country, we breed and specialize in Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boas, and various morphs of Boa Constrictors and Ball Pythons. We have hundreds of snakes in our collection.
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