A robot called Cheetah has set a
new world speed record for legged robots, running faster than the fastest
human. The headless machine, funded by the Pentagon, reached 28.3mph (45.5km/h)
when tested on a treadmill. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's top speed is
27.78mph (44.7km/h). The project is part of efforts to develop robots for
military use. One robotics expert told the BBC that it was ‘unfortunate’ the
Cheetah was made primarily ‘to kill people’.
It has been created by the
Massachusetts robotics company Boston Dynamics and backed by the US Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). According to Darpa, the aim is to more
effectively assist war fighters across a greater range of missions. The
Cheetah, which is powered by a hydraulic pump, broke its own record of 18mph
(29km/h), recorded in February. The agency plans to test the robot in the field
in 2013.
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