MIT's jumping robot cheetah will keep you awake at night

Engineers at MIT successfully tested their robotic cheetah's ability to autonomously jump over obstacles up to 18 inches tall, becoming the first four-legged robot to do so.

The cheetah-inspired robot beat its own previous record of 13 inches, running at a speed of 5 miles per hour.

The robot uses light detection and a radar system known as LIDAR, which uses lasers to map terrain. A route-planning algorithm allows the cheetah to "see" — not unlike how many autonomous cars work

This system allows the cheetah to scan the world ahead and determine the best way to clear an obstacle. If reading about robot cheetahs and lasers in the same sentence doesn't strike fear in your heart, then you don't know fear. Read more...