China continues to make strides in the robotics industry. This time, the nation’s engineers at robotic startup Mirror Me have created a new ultrafast robot dog called the Black Panther 2.0. It can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds, making it almost as quick as the fastest humans.
The new robot weighs 38 kilograms (84 pounds) and stands just 0.63 meters (2.1 feet) tall. It’s not very big in the grand scheme of things. However, that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most formidable engineering creations we’ve seen in a long time. The fast-moving robot dog can achieve speeds of up to 10.4 meters per second (23.3 mph), nearly matching the legendary speeds of Usain Bolt, who set a world-record pace of 10.44 m/s during the 2009 World Championships.
The robot’s design features flexible, knee-like joints on each of its four legs, which are crucial for dynamic, agile movements. Reinforced carbon-fiber structures have been integrated to maintain the integrity of these joints under the high strain of rapid movement, ensuring that the ultrafast robot dog can handle the stresses associated with such speeds.
Additionally, by incorporating artificial intelligence, including machine learning, the engineers allow the robot to adapt its gait and balance to diverse environmental conditions, potentially enhancing its operational capabilities in real-world scenarios. In a video shared on YouTube, the team talks about how the energy from each leg is transferred to another as needed to help push the fast-moving robot dog to new speeds.
While the intended applications for this ultrafast robot dog remain somewhat ambiguous, its remarkable speed hints at potential uses in areas such as security patrols or navigating hazardous environments—domains where swift, efficient movement could be a decisive advantage.
This development contrasts sharply with other quadruped robots, such as the DEEP Robotics Lynx, which tops out at a significantly lower speed of 4.9 m/s (11 mph). We’ve also seen similar developments in Boston Dynamics’ cheetah robot, which is known for reaching 12.6 m/s (28.3 mph). Although it is a larger, heavier robot that has yet to transition to commercial viability.
China has also developed rifle-toting robot dogs, so it isn’t that surprising to see its engineers at the forefront of pushing robotics even further. Exactly where these fast-moving robot dogs will find their home is unclear, but thanks to all the science fiction stories surrounding robot uprisings, it really isn’t hard to imagine a nightmare fueled by these robots.
