Robot Set Guinness World Record By Running 100 Metres

Agility Robotics' bipedal robot Cassie set Guinness World Record as it stood back up after running 100 metres while maintaining her balance. At OSU's Whyte Track & Field Center, Cassie ran the fastest time ever in 24.73 seconds while beginning from a standing position and returning to it after the sprint without falling.

It was operated by a neural network that was only employed for one week at a time but had been trained over the course of a year in simulation. Although there are several such Guinness World Records, this one is based on a normal competitive human endeavour, according to the official website of the Guinness Book of World Records.

It is an accurate measure of average speed maintained over a defined distance rather than just a measurement of high speed for a small amount of time, with the key caveat that it must start and end in the same standing position. It cannot simply race for 100 metres before colliding.

Meanwhile, it is made clear on the Oregon State University website that Cassie was developed under the direction of Jonathan Hurst, a robotics professor there, using a 16-month, $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. The robot appears to be fully blind because it can flex its knees like an ostrich and works without the aid of any cameras or other sensors.