Robo-Cheetah Runs Faster Than Usain Bolt (Video)

by Luke Hughes on Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 9:06PM

Usain Bolt is the fastest man alive, as he's proved with world record times at the past two Olympics. But can a robot really outrun the sprinting savant?

Well, when you're a Boston Dynamics built robot, apparently anything is possible. The Boston-based engineering and advanced robotics company has developed a new cheetah robot that can actually outrun Bolt, according to an NBC technology report.

The Cheetah, a four-footed robot powered by a hydraulic pump, was first introduced in February when the mechanical mammal set a new land speed record for legged robots by galloping at an 18 mph pace — breaking the old record of 13.1.

After a few months of adjustments, though, the Cheetah decided to go out for another jaunt and this time with the intent of running even faster. The robot, which is attached to a tether to keep from breaking when it stumbles at the finish, boarded its typical high-speed treadmill in the Boston Dynamic offices earlier this week.

In the robot's most recent run, the Cheetah proceeded to increase its speed all the way to 28.3 mph — a full 10 mph faster than its February run and slightly faster than Bolt. The robot still runs slower than normal living cheetahs — like the one at the Cincinnati Zoo that ran the 100-meter dash at 5.95 seconds — but it wouldn't be surprising if that also changed soon enough.

Check out the video of the lightning-fast cheetah in the video below.

Photo of the Night

So, NFL playbooks are now on the iPad? I think I'll stick to Angry Birds.

Tweet of the Night

Get Gronk'd! Unless, of course, you're a high school girl in his PE class.

As promised, some outtakes from the Gronkowski story. Apologies in advance for the timeline-clogging

— Chris Ballard (@SI_ChrisBallard) September 6, 2012

Rob’s idea of flirting during PE class in high school: During volleyball, thunderously spike the ball off the foreheads of pretty girls

— Chris Ballard (@SI_ChrisBallard) September 6, 2012

Rob told me his dream is to one day purchase his own limo bus. He wasn't joking. “Those are my favorite!”

— Chris Ballard (@SI_ChrisBallard) September 6, 2012