Nicholas West
AP
Beyond the economic debate of whether humans will officially be outsourced to robots — or not (maybe by 2045) — there is no question that the military-industrial complex loves the idea of creating robots that can serve the battlefield and beyond. Here are some of their current favorites.
- PETMAN humanoid robot
- Sand Flea jumping robot
- Robobee – pollinator/surveillance
- Cryo – robot jellyfish to patrol the oceans
- Cheetah – designed to chase human prey (and now has had a cub)
- Big Dog – Heavy lifting, like throwing cinderblocks, and transport
But, just as with drones, the next phase of miniaturized robot tech is offering some insane possibilities. The video below shows a new bot that Singularity Hub defined as “freaky fast” — like the equivalent of a human running 120 mph.
…researchers from the University of Maryland and John Hopkins have constructed a miniature robot with independent drive motors propelling its four whegs, which are hybrid-wheel-legs that offer the best of both.
The bot can travel up to 30 body lengths a second (2.2 m/s or around 5 MPH). As IEEE Spectrum points out, a human traveling the equivalent relative distance in the same time would be going approximately 120 MPH.
As miniturization continues right down to the nano-scale, as well as bots and drones that mimic nature, it might become increasingly difficult to see what exactly is coming next.