Scurrying across the ground at speeds of up to 9mph, this four-legged robotic'cheetah' is sure to make you jump. It has been developed by engineers at MIT and is even able to rapidly traverse ice and gravel. Billed as'virtually indestructible', they said it had learned how to race across a range of different terrain through trial and error, in much the same way that humans learn. Thanks to modern simulated technology, the researchers said, their mini cheetah robot was able to accumulate 100 days' worth of experience on different grounds in just three hours of actual time. Scurrying across the ground at speeds of up to 9mph, this four-legged robotic'cheetah' is sure to make you jump Billed as'virtually indestructible', they said it had learned how to cross a range of terrain through trial and error It has been almost 25 years since the first robotic animals were created, and since then scientists across the world have revealed examples of walking, dancing and door-opening machines, among others. One of the most famous is Boston Dynamics' mini robo-dog Spot, which last year was filmed performing a highly choreographed dance to the music of South Korean K-pop sensation BTS.

In addition to being durable, the Mini Cheetah is designed in such a way that makes it easy to repair and modify if necessary. MIT is hoping that this level of flexibility will make the robots appealing to researchers who wouldn't otherwise have access to robotics.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology put on a spectacular show with a pack of mini cheetah robots the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Researchers behind the small quadrupedal robots shared a video online of these mechanical animals running, jumping and even kicking around a soccer ball. The cheetahs are shown frolicking through an area of the college campus, while being controlled by a human. The machines perform a synchronized dance, where they show their gymnastic abilities and then they all join in a game of soccer. 'Eventually, I'm hoping we could have a robotic dog race through an obstacle course, where each team controls a mini cheetah with different algorithms, and we can see which strategy is more effective,' Kim said.