The US Army is developing a new robot, the Cheetah, capable of outrunning the fastest man on Earth and a Terminator-type android, Atlas robot, that will work alongside troops.
Boston Dynamics has been awarded the multimillion-dollar contracts by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and hopes to build the first prototype in 20 months.
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The four-legged Cheetah will have a flexible spine, articulated head, and will be able to sprint, take sharp corners, zigzag and reach speeds of 20mph-30mph.
The Atlas robot will have a body, two arms, two legs and no head and will be able to walk over rough terrain, fit through tight gaps and crawl on its hands and knees if needed.
The prototype will be a more technologically advanced version of the Petman robot, which is used to test out chemical weapons protection suits for the army, according to the Daily Mail.
Boston Dynamics president and lead investigator on the project Marc Raibert said the US DoD was not so focused on the ultimate use of the robots.
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By GlobalData“They’re most focused on developing the technology and seeing what uses they can be applied to,” he added.
