Well, we knew it had to happen someday. A DARPA-funded robotic cheetah has been released into the wild, so to speak. A new algorithm developed by MIT researchers now allows their quadruped to run and jump — while untethered — across a field of grass.
The Pentagon, in an effort to investigate technologies that allow machines to traverse terrain in unique ways well, at least thats what they tell us, has been funding via DARPA the development of a robotic cheetah. Back in 2012, Boston Dynamics version smashed the landspeed record for the fastest mechanical mammal of Earth, reaching a top speed of 28.3 miles 45.5 km per hour.
Researchers at MIT have their own version of robo-cheetah, and theyve taken the concept in a new direction by imbuing it with the ability to run and bound while completely untethered.
Via MITs Robotic Cheetah Can Now Run And Jump While Untethered @ io9.