I For One Welcome Our New Robot Cat Overlords
Say hello to the robot cat:
Dubbed the “cheetah-cub robot,” scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne modeled it after a common housecat, with strings replacing the tendons in its legs. Flexible knees allow it to bound over steps and other small obstacles.
The robot can run at speeds of up to 3.1 miles per hour. Each second, it can travel seven times the length of its body, and it’s the fastest four-legged robot ever created that weighs less than 65 pounds
The robot can run at speeds of up to 3.1 miles per hour. Each second, it can travel seven times the length of its body, and it’s the fastest four-legged robot ever created that weighs less than 65 pounds. By comparison, the common housecat can travel about 29 body lengths per second.
“It has applications in rough terrain, it can climb through the mountains, which is harder for a machine with wheels,” Alexander Sprowitz, one of the researchers, explains in a video about the robot. Sprowitz believes the robot might be useful for search and rescue missions in areas with rocky terrain.
And it’s the first step in what has obviously been a millennia-long feline plot to enslave the planet.
Video at the link.
H/T: Vodkapundit
House cats should feel threatned by this technological development. After all, robot cats presumably don’t require litter boxes.
War is going to be nasty in 10 years, when robot-cat-grenades seek out your infantry.
@Surreal American:
On the other hand, I don’t really need to carry a cell phone if my robot-cat-phone just follows me.
(maybe a robot-finch-phone is better)
@john personna:
Sorry, but you are overestimating our feline foes. A single laser pointer and an electric can opener are all we need to distract and subdue them indefinitely.
Let loose the puddy tats of war, and put me down for a litter when they’re puking fresh Duracells for hairballs.
The important, unanswered questions:
– does it always land on it’s feet?
– does it purr?
@Neil Hudelson:
And rolled up newspapers to deal with the robo-dogs. Has to be an animated script in there somewhere.
I want to see it kill a mouse and prove its worth.
@Neil Hudelson: I can’t play laser pointer with my cat anymore. She figured out after about a week that I was controlling the red dot.
@Gromitt Gunn: We at one point had four cats. Three would exhaust themselves chasing the red dot. The fourth, a very bright Burmese, would just stare up at me with a look that said, “Really?”
@Marv:
Does it have 9 lives?
Up to 3.1 miles per hour, that’s almost as fast as a mouse.
@Scott O:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLrLIbqE8gY
Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I’ll forward this article to him.
Pretty sure he’s going to have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!