Mini Cheetah

Mini Cheetah. © Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is back with a new version of its Cheetah robot, the Mini Cheetah, which is unique in being able to do backflips, a first for a quadruped robot. This 9 kg robot is powerful and robust. It can reach speeds of 2.45 m/s (almost 9 km/h). Mini Cheetah masters different modes of locomotion (walking, lateral walking, running, jumping, etc.) and can right itself when it falls on its back. It is also relatively inexpensive to manufacture, according to its designers. Its modular limbs and motors makes the Mini Cheetah easy and fast to repair in case of breakage. Each of the legs of the robot is powered by three identical and inexpensive electric motors built from widely available, standard parts. MIT plans to build a dozen Mini Cheetahs in order to lend them to other research laboratories, and why not, to organize races!

⇨ MIT News, “Mini cheetah is the first four-legged robot to do a backflip.”

⇨ Circuit Breaker, “MIT’s Mini Cheetah robot can do backflips now.”