Mini cheetah will be presented in May on the International Conference on Robotics and Automation. This robot has block structure, as each leg is powered by three electric motors. So the robot can be easily repaired if needed.
It is planned to loan a few more robots this type for other laboratories. The aim is to make a robotic race, where cheetahs are controlled by different algorithms.
Mini cheetah is very robust, what gives possibility to make even complex experiments, as robot is very easy to fix. Robot was tested in two types of environment – in the halls of laboratory and on the ground of Killian Court. In both cases the moving speed was 5 m/h, joints can move three times faster with twice amount of torque. Engineers as well wrote code, allowing robot to twist and move in various yoga-type configurations.
Credit: Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office
