The previous record was 13.1 miles per hour (21.1 km/h; 5.9 m/s), set in 1989 at MIT. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s top speed is 27.78mph (44.7km/h). This robot has an articulated back that flexes back and forth on each step, thereby increasing its stride and running speed, much like the animal does. The original Cheetah robot runs on a high-speed treadmill in the laboratory where it is powered by an off-board hydraulic pump and uses a boom-like device to keep it running in the center of the treadmill.
A free-running Cheetah that will operate more naturally in the field, named the WildCat, was unveiled to the public on October 3, 2013. A similar but independently developed robot also known as Cheetah is made by MIT's Biomimetic Robotics Lab, which, by 2014, could jump over obstacles while running.