Sep 15, 2014 02:55 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a robotic cheetah that resembles the real-life animal in almost every way.

According to an MIT news release, the team's new robot is about the same size and weight as a cheetah, but runs much slower. In a test run, the scientists saw the robot cheetah reach 10 mph and it could even continue its sprint after clearing a hurdle.

Cheetahs are the fastest land-based animal and can reach speeds of 60 mph in a matter of seconds. To do so, it pumps its hind legs in sync with one another until it reaches its top speed and then begins its gallop. The cheetah is a classic sprinter and cannot sustain its blistering speed for too long.

The MIT team believes their robot will one day be able to run as fast as 30 mph thanks to the force-controlled approach they took to programming the robot's legs. The scientists designed the legs to apply a specific amount of force each time it lands on the ground, a similar principle to actual sprinting.

"Many sprinters, like Usain Bolt, don't cycle their legs really fast," Sangbae Kim, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, said in the release. "They actually increase their stride length by pushing downward harder and increasing their ground force, so they can fly more while keeping the same frequency."

Hae-Won Park, a research scientist, and Meng Yee Chuah, a graduate student, will accompany Kim in presenting the robotic cheetah at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems later this month in Chicago.

"Most robots are sluggish and heavy, and thus they cannot control force in high-speed situations," Kim said. "That's what makes the MIT cheetah so special: You can actually control the force profile for a very short period of time, followed by a hefty impact with the ground, which makes it more stable, agile, and dynamic."

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