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The cheetah-bot is off the leash.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have built a four-legged robot that runs like the super-fast spotted feline and can even run on its own power.
The robot has now been filmed sprinting like a champion across grassy fields on the MIT university campus.
When tested on an indoor track, the cheetah-bot - or robo-cheetah - could run at 16km/h, and the researchers think it could eventually reach 50km/h.
That still doesn't hold a candle to an actual cheetah, which can reach 100km/h in a matter of seconds - but it's fast where legged robots are concerned.
If the robo-cheetah can indeed reach those speeds, it could potentially give Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, who's been clocked at nearly 45km/h, a run for his money.
In any case, the robot is already a multi-sport athlete - it can also do hurdles, leaping over obstacles up to 33cm tall and sprinting onwards.
The key is in the running algorithm that the researchers developed.
A rolling robot or vehicle will spin its wheels faster when it wants to pick up the pace. But that's not the way this legged robot works.
Instead of pumping its legs faster and faster, the cheetah robot puts more force into each step, so each stride takes it a little farther in the same time.
Heavy running robots typically can't control force very well at high speeds as their feet pound the ground, but MIT's cheetah can - which means it can navigate rougher terrain without breaking its stride.
This cheetah robot runs by bounding, which is when the front legs hit the ground together, followed by the back legs.
It's similar to the way a rabbit runs, and it's relatively simpler to imitate than more complex patterns of four-legged running, like trotting or galloping.


'Cheetah-bot' aims to give Usain Bolt a run for his money one day

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's "robo-cheetah". Photo: MIT

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's "robo-cheetah".

Usain Bolt 

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Four-legged robot can reach speeds of 16km/h, but researchers predict it could go much faster


'Cheetah-bot' aims to give Usain Bolt a run for his money one day

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Four-legged robot can reach speeds of 16km/h, but researchers predict it could go much faster

Four-legged robot can reach speeds of 16km/h, but researchers predict it could go much faster