the DARPA ‘cheetah’ is the world’s fastest running robot, capable of moving at speeds up to 18mph

engineers of DARPA (the US defense advanced research projects agency) have set a new land speed record for a legged robot with the ‘cheetah’, capable of galloping at speeds of up to 18mph.

the robot was developed by DARPA’S maximum mobility and manipulation (M3) program, in collaboration with boston dynamics tech and robotics production firm. its top speed of 18mph means that the ‘cheetah’ can run a mile in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, using a flexible spine and movements modeled after the mechanics of fast-moving animals. the current human world record for running a mile is 3:43, by hicham el guerrouj of morocco; although the robot’s namesake animal has been recorded as running at speeds up to 70mph.

while the video displays the ‘cheetah’ in its current state, running on a treadmill while powered by an off-board hydraulic pump, testing of a free-moving prototype is planned for later this year.

video demo of the ‘cheetah’ robot running

DARPA cheetah is the world's fastest running robot concept drawing of the ‘cheetah’

2011 media coverage of the plans for the ‘cheetah’ and other DARPA robots – please click to watch on youtube (embedding disabled)

via wired