Straight Out of Jurassic Park: Dino-robot Beats Usain Bolt Speed
Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, was recently bested by a robotic dinosaur.
The robot Raptor, a two-legged creation developed by the scientists of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), has designed the tiny robot to run up to speeds of 28.85 mph, a speed faster than Jamaican superstar sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt whose personal best tops at 27.44 mph.
Inspired by the velociraptor dinosaur, "isn't quite as fast as the robot, Cheetah, developed by researchers at Boston Dynamics, but it can run at close to the same speed, in two legs rather than four," The Liberty Voice reported.
The Raptor is compact and light-weight being only 3 kg or 6.5 lbs. It's defining factor is in its "tail" that keeps it balanced with legs made out of composite material with one motor per leg while its feet is made of carbon-fiber prosthetic blades and for power, it's Achilles tendons use springs.
Apparently, the robot hit the speed of 48 kph but the official top speed recorded by the scientists is pegged at 46 kph because it remained relatively stable at that pace. The world's fastest robot still remains with Boston Dynamic's Cheetah as it gallops north of 29 mph, although it does use four legs.
The Raptor was inspired by the velociraptor, a predator ancient dinosaur, which runs at high speeds to chase its prey before shredding it for consumption.
Currently, the Raptor, like cheetah, only runs on treadmills and uses an attached beam to prevent run-offs. But while it is still in its prototype or initial stage, the KAIST team plans to make the robot capable of running in other surfaces.
Bolt may still win if some experts are correct. The robots are attached to the railings that keep them upright. Humans have a slight advantage during a foot race. See the video of the KAIST raptor in action here.