Remember DARPA's terrifying Cheetah robot that could run faster than Usain Bolt -- so fast that it basically shook itself to pieces? Well, I have good news if you're a fellow American, or bad news if you're an enemy combatant: There's now a free-running version of Cheetah, called WildCat, that can run at 16 mph (26 kph), untethered, in the real world. At this point you really should watch the video below, and then continue reading this post from the bunker that you quickly built in your basement.
Just over a year ago, Boston Dynamics, funded by DARPA, showed off Cheetah -- a tethered quadruped robot that was capable of running at 28 mph (45 kph). At the time, we knew that an untethered version, called WildCat, was in the works -- but we had no idea that Boston Dynamics could take something from the drawing board, to galloping around outside, in such a short amount of time.
It probably isn't a coincidence that WildCat (M3 to give its DARPA designation) looks a lot like BigDog (LS3), another robot designed by Boston Dynamics. BigDog also started life as a tethered robot, and is now waddling free, carrying up to 400 pounds (180 kg) across rough terrain. Both robots appear to use a similar chassis and petrol engine. Presumably, where BigDog (video below) is tuned for torque and stability, WildCat is tailored towards raw speed -- but even so, you can see in the video above that it can still turn corners fairly well.
For now, we're looking at a very early version of WildCat. The eventual goal is to produce a four-legged robot that can run at speeds of up to 50 mph, on "all types of terrain." While it's fun to think of WildCat robots chasing down enemy combatants on the battlefield, the main purpose of the M3 (Maximum Mobility and Manipulation) program is simply to investigate how we can create robots that are much more fluid and flexible than they currently are. It would be naive to think that some version of Cheetah/WildCat won't eventually be used in battle, though. Perhaps to run supplies to the frontline, or perhaps for more aggressive acts, such as a suicidal robotic bomb that runs into the enemy line and explodes.
At this point we should also point out that Boston Dynamics and DARPA now have a complete family of robots: A human (Atlas, pictured above), canine (BigDog), and feline (WildCat). I don't think I'm completely crazy in thinking that the US military might one day field a completely robotic army, with Atlas firing the weapons, BigDog acting as the pack mule, and WildCat providing rapid, highly maneuverable support and flanking.
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