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Cheetah robot 'runs faster than Usain Bolt'

The Cheetah Robot developed by Boston Dynamics breaks the speed record - Video courtesy of Darpa and Boston Dynamics

A robot called Cheetah has set a new world speed record for legged robots, running faster than the fastest human.

The headless machine, funded by the Pentagon, reached 28.3mph (45.5km/h) when tested on a treadmill.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's top speed is 27.78mph (44.7km/h).
The project is part of efforts to develop robots for military use. One robotics expert told the BBC that it was "unfortunate" the Cheetah was made primarily "to kill people".
It has been created by the Massachusetts robotics company Boston Dynamics and backed by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).
According to Darpa, the aim is to "more effectively assist war fighters across a greater range of missions".
The Cheetah, which is powered by a hydraulic pump, broke its own record of 18mph (29km/h), recorded in February.
"The Cheetah had a slight advantage over Bolt as it ran on a treadmill," Darpa said in a statement, "but most of the power Cheetah used was to swing and lift its legs fast enough, not to propel itself forward."
The agency plans to test the robot in the field in 2013.
Killing civilians? The machine's design has been inspired by the real cheetah, the fastest land animal, which can reach speeds of 75mph (121km/h).
"Cheetahs happen to be beautiful examples of how natural engineering has created speed and agility across rough terrain," said Gill Pratt, Darpa programme manager.

Usain Bolt: World's fastest human

"Our Cheetah bot borrows ideas from nature's design to inform stride patterns, flexing and unflexing of parts like the back, placement of limbs and stability."
"What we gain through Cheetah and related research efforts are technological building blocks that create possibilities for a whole range of robots suited to future Department of Defense missions."
Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, said the robot was "an incredible technical achievement, but it's unfortunate that it's going to be used to kill people".
"It's going to be used for chasing people across the desert, I would imagine. I can't think of many civilian applications - maybe for hunting, or farming, for rounding up sheep.
"But of course if it's used for combat, it would be killing civilians as well as it's not going to be able to discriminate between civilians and soldiers."
Darpa's press release for the Cheetah project suggested that the robots might ultimately be used in "emergency response, humanitarian assistance and other defence missions".

From fireworks and flying performers to a welcome from professor Stephen Hawking, the London Paralympic Games started off with a bang exploring the theme of Enlightenment. Here, TIME presents the best moments from the opening ceremonies.
Performers with umbrellas are suspended in mid-air during the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Paralympics in London,

Robots compete in their own 'Olympics' games

WATCH: the robots competing in the RoboWorld Cup introduce themselves

London may be host to the Olympics and paralympics but Bristol is the place to be if you are a sporty robot.

26 teams from around the world are currently competing in the FIRA RoboWorld Cup
They are taking part in a range of games, including football, basketball and weightlifting.
It is the first time that the event has been hosted in the UK and organisers say that they have had a record number of entries.
The robots have also smashed a few world records along the way.
Marathon hopes The Usain Bolt of the robot world comes from Singapore.
"The sprint world record was 42 seconds but Singapore has smashed that with 31 seconds," organiser Dr Guido Herrmann told the BBC.
Unlike their human counterparts, the robots do not run 100 metres.
"It is three metres [9ft 10in] forward and three metres back," explained Dr Herrmann.
Homegrown pre-tournament favourites from Plymouth University will compete against Singapore in the sprint final on Saturday and "still have a very good chance", he said.
It could be shaping up to be the robot equivalent of super Saturday.
Another local team, from Bristol University's robotics laboratory, is competing in the final of the marathon.

Robots compete at the Robot World Cup, copyright Joe Meredith

Competition is fierce in all disciplines

The event - a gruelling 42 metres - is going to be a challenge for Team Panther, as the entry is dubbed.
"To be honest we'd just be happy to finish the race. At the moment our robot isn't walking very well," confessed team member David Pollard.
The competition is made more difficult by the fact the teams have not been told in advance where the race will take place.
"A table-top is easier than a floor or carpet but the surface is yet to be decided," he added.
Team Panther's robot has been built from scratch but it will be competing against shop-bought robots which, according to Mr Pollard, are currently outperforming the home-made versions.
But he doesn't think this is unfair.
"Essentially you should be able to build a better robot than one off the shelf but this is our first year," he said.
Weightlifting DVDs The main focus of the competition is football, but competition in other disciplines has also been intense. The weightlifting record is one of several expected to fall.
"The current world record is to lift 89 DVDs which is quite a bit for a small robot. But already in training a couple have lifted 100 DVDs," said Dr Herrmann.
Many of the robots compete in multiple sports. The organiser described them as "decathletes" rather than single-event specialists.

Fun is at the heart of the competition but all entrants must observe one important rule.

Just like their human equivalents, having the right trainers is vital for a sports robot

"The robots must be autonomous. Once they start the humans must be hands-off," Dr Herrmann said.
It is a coup for Bristol to have won the bid to host the event which has been running since 1996.
But Dr Herrmann admitted that competition was "fierce".
"I had to submit a bid in 2010 and go to Bangalore to present it," he said.
"Putting the dates between the Olympics and the paralympics may have helped."
The competition ends on Saturday.

By past experience, and historical precedence, no one expected a huge take up for the Paralympics because, for whatever reason, they have always had a limited appeal, despite the promotion that usually accompanies them. But not this year.Hot on the heels of the very successful Olympic Games, with the country still basking in the glow of its halo, people have turned their attention immediately to the forthcoming Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability. Only 2.5 million tickets were made available, with the hope that perhaps 60%-75% would be sold. Now only 300,000 are left, including the more expensive tickets for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies (£300 and £500), and even those have people scrambling for them, with lots of cries of them being 'difficult to get'. Olympic fever has gripped our nation and everyone now wants a bit of the action.
The interesting point to note is that the Paralympics are not until August 29th, and if no tickets are available from now, what happens when they get underway and the real interest begins?
It is clear that the current furore around tickets is caused because the organisers obviously underestimated the demand for them. But they were not to know beforehand that the Olympics would be so successful and create extra interest down the line; that there would be such a knock on effect in the two Games. The performance of the British athletes has been phenomenal and, rising on this crest of such euphoria, it is not surprising to see that the public would like to get behind our Paralympic athletes as well to see if that success can be equalled or even bettered. That can be no bad thing for sport and inclusion.
The only danger with this raised public expectation is that it could put our athletes under new physical and emotional pressure to perform in equal manner to their able bodied counterparts, perhaps with adverse effects. Precedent has been set and England expects, and all that…but it could end in acute disappointment all round.
Nonetheless, thanks to the Olympics being held in Britain, perhaps, for the first time ever, our Paralympians will now get the crucial attention and support they deserve, and the interest to match. Good luck to them!

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