• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Surprising reason why robots can't be built to outrun the fastest animals

Home> Science> News

Updated 13:37 28 May 2024 GMT+1Published 13:38 28 May 2024 GMT+1

Surprising reason why robots can't be built to outrun the fastest animals

Robots have come a long way, but they're not yet as quick as you'd think.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

Robots seem to get more sophisticated every day - you can constantly find new videos of robots designed for functions like moving packages, working in offices or constructing cars, and also of humanoids that take advantage of AI to be able to actually talk to us and more.

However, one area has been really resistant to the advent of robots, and that's speed - as viral clips from the likes of Boston Dynamics and more demonstrate, it's not easy to get a robot to go really fast.

Of course, if you strap wheels to it things might change, but at that point you're really talking about a sort of vehicle rather than a robot.

If you want a robot with legs to move quickly, it turns out that our current construction limitations mean this will almost always come with a big trade-off in other areas, making it less useful overall.

Advert

LUDOVIC MARIN / Contributor / Getty
LUDOVIC MARIN / Contributor / Getty

Kaushik Jayaram is a mechanical engineer from the University of Colorado Boulder, and he told Science Alert that compared to some animals, "At the system level, robots are not as good. We run into inherent design trade-offs. If we try to optimize for one thing, like forward speed, we might lose out on something else, like turning ability."

It might sound surprising, given how much hype there is around robots and machine learning helping them navigate and react to what they encounter, but it turns out we've still got a long, long way to go.

Apparently, even tiny insects generally beat robots when it comes to how they sense the world around them, and how they adapt their behavior to fit into that world.

Advert

On top of these adaptation issues, robots also still have major limitations thanks to the need to store their power in batteries or generators onboard, with these needing integration into other systems that keep things relatively bulky and inefficient compared to animals.

Carlos Carreno / Getty
Carlos Carreno / Getty

As Jayaram put it: "Animals are, in some sense, the embodiment of this ultimate design principle - a system that functions really well together. Nature is a really useful teacher."

This all comes as a result of Jayaram and his team conducting some detailed research to establish exactly what is limiting robotics at the moment where speed and manoeuvring is concerned, and the work they've done will doubtless help to inform interesting developments to come.

Advert

After all, in the last couple of years, we've gone from AI being a pipe dream to the point where basically every company in the world is trying to demonstrate how they're going to be 'AI-first' moving forward, so things can change really rapidly when big tech breakthroughs are made. So, you might have to brace yourself to be outrun by a robot soon.

Featured Image Credit: Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd / Carlos Carreno / Getty
Robots
AI
Tech News
News
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
19 hours ago
20 hours ago
21 hours ago
  • 2 hours ago

    Psychologist reveals simple everyday act that can has power to completely change your relationship

    Experts believe this mundane chore could be the key to keeping your relationship happy

    Science
  • 19 hours ago

    Scientist made shock admission ahead of NASA mission to asteroid 'worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000'

    It's not what most people want to hear

    Science
  • 20 hours ago

    Ozempic users share shocking ‘Ozempic sex’ side effect that not many people know about

    It's not just your wasitline that could be shrinking

    Science
  • 21 hours ago

    Solar panels illegal in 49 states could transform energy for the USA

    A YouTuber showed how the solar panels can be plugged into a home outlet

    Science
  • Chinese humanoid robot is the 'fastest in the world' thanks to one surprising addition
  • Eerie reason why tech expert believes artificial super-intelligence could be humanity's final invention
  • Dystopian humanoid 'robot girlfriend' 'built for intimacy' now available to buy for $175,000
  • Reason why the world's most advanced humanoid robot has gray colored skin