China's 'Black Panther 2.0' robot dog run can even outrun Usain Bolt

A bionic robot dog has been developed in China which has the ability to outrun human athletes.

The four-legged machine at 38-kg and 0.63-meters tall named "Black Panther 2.0" can even sprint 100 metres in under 10 seconds, beating the likes of racing icon Usain Bolt.

Its speediness is proven in the demonstration video where the Black Panther effortlessly passes the male athlete to win the race, and is now thought to be one of the world's fastest quadruped robots.

But how is it so quick?

That's down to researchers at the robotics startup Mirror Me and the Center for Interdisciplinary Mechanics at Zhejiang University in China, as reported by Xinhua, a media outlet run by the Chinese government.

The Black Panther 2.0 in actionYouTube/Sentivium

They looked at how animals such as black panthers, cheetahs and jerboas and their joints and apply this to the robot which has knee-like joints to ensure in moves at a top speed.

Plus, the dog is able to improve after each run thanks to the artificial intelligence system that was installed, this also helps the machine's adaptability when it comes to environment too.

To ensure the robot's legs have a firm grip when running at such speed, they even have cheetah-inspired "running shoes".

Wang Hongtao, chief of the institute and a professor at Zhejiang University, told Xinhua: "Through the integration of software and components, we created a prototype within a mere three months."

Other notable quadruped robots include HOUND, invented by researchers in the Dynamic Robot Control and Design Laboratory in South Korea.

There is also the 'Lynx' security robot created by Chinese robotics company DEEP Robotics for surveying challenging environment - but this is half as quick as the Black Panther at 4.9 m/s (11 mph).

Elsewhere, how society's objectification of tech fuels misogyny and tiny robots thinner than a human hair could help treat cancer.

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