Have you ever seen a cheetah jump?
Probably not in real life, but youโve likely seen it on TV.
A cheetah can jump as far as 35 to 45 feet.
Thatโs pretty ridiculous when you think about just how far that is.
A jumping cheetah is impressive, but this video takes it one step further.
Itโs not every day that you get to see a jumping cheetah robot.
The robot was built by MIT researchers several years ago, and theyโve been testing its capabilities since then.
Last year, researchers proved that the robot could run untethered, and could somehow do this โblindโ, without using cameras or other systems to provide โvisionโ.
The science behind the cheetah robotโs ability to run and jump is pretty extraordinary.
According to an MIT News page, the robot can โseeโ by using a visual system called a LIDAR. This system maps terrain using reflections from a laser.
It sounds complicated, and thatโs because it is. The MIT research team had to plan out the robotโs path using a three-part algorithm, which would ultimately give the robot complete autonomous control.
Confused? So are we. Letโs take a break to marvel at the jump itself, no science involved.
In the now-viral YouTube video, the cheetah robot can be seen running on a giant treadmill and jumping over obstacles of various sizes.
The robot moves like an animal, which is obviously the point, but slightly creepy nevertheless.
Okay, maybe itโs more like an animal with arthritis but hey, it can still jump.
The hurdles get progressively bigger and bigger, but the robot cheetah handles them like a pro. So much so that the researchers decide itโs time to get rid of its safety harness.
Free of the harness, the cheetah seems even more capable. It clears three hurdles in a row, not even looking phased by the exertion.
If you donโt like robots, this video might make you feel a bit weird.
But 20+ million people decided it was an interesting enough concept to watch, and the comments section is pretty amusing.
One person wrote:
โCanโt wait for this thing to chase after my family for not paying taxes.โ
Someone felt similarly, writing:
โI have been preparing for zombies, not robot cheetahs.โ
We all know the โwhat if robots took over the worldโ narrative, but letโs see this for what it is: a pretty cool invention thatโs doing nothing scarier than jumping over things.
Now that weโve cleared that up, letโs go back to the science.
Apparently, the reason why the robot cheetah can clear the hurdles so cleanly is because it has been programmed to detect an obstacle and estimate its size and distance.
The cheetah recognizes the ground as a straight line. Anything above the ground is a deviation from the line, and the cheetah can estimate the height of the hurdle and the distance from itself.
If you havenโt seen the cheetah robot in action yet, itโs really something to behold.
You can check it out in the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
