Robots will soon be able to run like cheetahs

盧梓忠

1. Scientists have been experimenting with four-legged robots for years， trying to see if they could be used as animals for carrying heavy loads over a difficult place. But the machines power requirements limited their ability. Thats changed， with a running robot designed by a group of engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that operates on batteries rather than heavy gasoline-powered engines.

2. 科學家們說他們的機器人很快就能像非洲獵豹那樣跑。

But for now， the different technologies that will bring them closer to everyday life are still being tested.

One of the problems continues to be power consumption （電力消耗）. These machines are still relatively heavy and their numerous motors require a lot of energy to run.

But engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a 30-kilogram cheetah-like 3. robot that is light enough to run on batteries.

“This robot can actually jump 40 centimeters high， and it can land very safely， and then it can run because of the special motor technology we developed，” said Sangbae Kim， director of MIT Biomimetics Robotic Lab.

Kim says the robot needs only about 700 watts of power. Its limbs （四肢） and other parts were made in a 3-D printer and reinforced （加固） with the strong， light-weight plastic called Kevlar， used for modern army helmets and bodysuits.

“4. 其外殼框架（frame）必須是又輕又堅硬， so we designed this frame to handle these high forces and the high shock，” he said.

But the development of MITs robot is not without setbacks. Its limbs must have great force and sometimes they break.

Kim says another special feature is the custom-made motor controller.

“It is also designed by us because none of the commercially available products can handle this kind of power，” he said.

Researchers say the new technologies used on this robot may find their way to artificial（人造的） limbs as well as other high-tech machines being developed to replace humans at back-breaking jobs.

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