The "cheetah-cub robot" is modeled after a feline; scientists hope it will encourage research in biomechanics, which could lead to improved search and rescue missions and exploration.
The robot, created by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne's biorobotics laboratory in Switzerland, is the fastest example of this particular type of robot. The legs were modeled after a cat's, allowing it to run at high speeds, according to a press release.
Researchers looked closely at the biology of feline legs in order to artificially recreate them.
The robot's legs have three sections and closely resemble the phyisique of a cat. Springs are used as synthetic tendons. The robotic feline also boasts actuators, which are "small motors that convert energy into movement," acting as muscles.
"This morphology gives the robot the mechanical properties from which cats benefit, that's to say a marked running ability and elasticity in the right spots, to ensure stability," said Alexander Sprowitz, a scientist who worked on the robot. "The robot is thus naturally more autonomous."
During tests, the "robocat" was able to run at speeds of about seven times its body length in only a second.
The robot can run difficult courses, including ones that require small steps. Although it doesn't have the same agility as an actual cat, it has auto-stabilization abilities when running at full speed.
The catlike robot can be assembled easily and at a low cost, it is lightweight and about the size of a common house cat.
According to Biorob director, Auke Ijspeert, the team has created other critter-inspired robots in order to study locomotion. Past projects have included a salamander robot and a lamprey robot.
"It's still in the experimental stages, but the long-term goal of the cheetah-cub robot is to be able to develop fast, agile, ground-hugging machines for use in exploration, for example for search and rescue in natural disaster situations," Ijspeert said. "Studying and using the principles of the animal kingdom to develop new solutions for use in robots is the essence of our research."
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