Posted on 05/17/2013 3:18:15 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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.
Remember you don’t have to be faster than Terminator cheetah, you just have to not be the slowest person running away from Terminator cheetah.
Well, the trot up to 22 kmh was very mechanical and I bet that thing would fall apart after a few hours. Of course, it’s just a tech dmonstrator in any case.
But the transition to gallop was only shown in slow motion and for a short duration, which emplies to me that it is not very stable doing that right now...or they would have shown that longer.
Still, the servos, actuators, balance, syncronization, etc. required to achieve even this are pretty significant and will lead to better things later.
I might add though, despite the implictions in the title, that this 22kmh speed is absolutely nothing compared to the capabilities of the Cheetah that God made.
True, and it never will be. Mankind tries and fails to imitate the Creator.
>>I’m doomed. Terminator cheetah can already outrun me. <<
Heck, I think Honey Badger can outrun me...
He just about got Val Kilmer on the planet Mars. Sneaky rascal.
looks like it will tip over, but impressive none the less
Just the thing our overlords will need for running down people who don’t love Big Brother.
True, and it never will be. Mankind tries and fails to imitate the Creator.”
My wife and I did a pretty good recreating ourselves with our two sons. :)
Heh heh :)
Congrats, BTW
He’s wearing cute little booties....
BEAUTIFUL cheetahs in super slow motion...but wait until they show them near the end at REAL speed!
Also, if you watch this, one of the things that stand out is how steady the head of the cheetah is with little relative motion to the ground, even though the creature is going flat out!
Frisky the wonder tigress just yawned and resettled herself in my lap.
Beautiful. Majestic. Half the time his/her paws aren’t even in contact with the ground. Looks like he’s flying.
While re-watching the video to check out his stylin' booties, I noticed it looks like his front legs are moving a lot faster than his hind legs. How in the world is that possible?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.