Scientists at China’s Zhejiang University recently announced that their Black Panther robot has achieved a constant speed of 10 meters per second, a world record for quadruped robots.
Black Panther has been in development at Zhejiang University’s Hangzhou International Science and Technology Innovation Center since 2018, but over the first six years, scientists struggled to exceed the speed of 6 meters per second. In early experiments, once the robot went over this speed threshold, it suffered severe damage, such as ruptured “calves” and in some cases, the entire torso disintegrated. However, after numerous trials and attempts to mimic the joint and muscle structures of various animals and even humans, researchers managed to make important modifications, such as adding springs between the leg joints to cushion impact, and earlier this year Black Panther reached a record speed of 10m/s.