MIT researchers train Cheetah robot to perform a backflip

Designed and built by a team at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering the 9kg quadruped can run at five miles per hour, bound across uneven terrain and even rapidly right itself when it is pushed over.

The robot builds on developments made with an earlier and larger system, Cheetah 3 which often needs to be stabilised with tethers to protect its expensive, custom-designed parts.

“In Cheetah 3, everything is super integrated, so if you want to change something, you have to do a ton of redesign,” said lead developer Benjamin Katz.

Instead, the mini cheetah is designed with modularity in mind: “You could put these parts together, almost like Legos,” added Katz.

Each of the robot’s legs is powered by three identical, low-cost electric motors that the researchers engineered using off-the-shelf parts. Each motor can easily be swapped out for a new one.