Nina In New York: The Cheetah Is Loose
A lighthearted look at news, events, culture and everyday life in New York. The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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By Nina Pajak
Remember that robot Cheetah being developed by MIT scientists that could outrun Usain Bolt on a treadmill? Well, at the risk of sounding cliche and melodramatic, IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIIIIIVE!
[Cue thunder claps, lightening bolts, flickering lights, maniacal laughter, etc.]
Okay, perhaps it's not alive in the strict sense of the word, but now the thing is twice as fast, can jump over a foot in the air, is outfitted with some cool, cheetah-print accessories, and it's using its old treadmill as a laundry hamper, like the rest of us. That's right—it's on the loose. And because it runs on an electric motor and not one that requires gas, he's as quiet and stealthy as a Prius. Or, uh, a cheetah.
Initially, I had planned to write my usual screed about the inevitability of the robot army that will one day enslave humans and how these cheetahs will be like the evil horses upon which they ride to our city gates. But MIT's YouTube video's cheerful, cartoonish music, playful use of arrows, and brightly lit backdrop somehow transforms the cheetah from sinister, metal beast to adorable electronic pal. He plinks and plunks and leaps around like a military grade Tekno.
According to MIT's promotional video, the scientists envision the technology behind the cheetah being applied to advances in human prosthetics or even to create a brand new form of transportation that would make roads obsolete. Combined with the emerging self-driving car technology, the possibilities here are endless. Maybe our cars will begin to grow legs and faces, allowing us to go off-road nimbly, sidestep rush hour traffic, and also do little spontaneous dances, perform tricks, or perhaps growl and flip obscene gestures at other drivers. Or will we be riding around on modified, saddled versions of this robot, bopping up and down at 10 mph, leaping over rocks and wildlife and perhaps catching the stray robot muskrat or two for a snack along the way? Perhaps one day, the market will expand to include all sorts of mountable, robotic animals, and we'll roam the forests atop a veritable electric menagerie. I call elephant! No, mammoth! No, moose. No, wait, ostrich. Gosh, this is so exciting.
Nina Pajak is a writer living with her husband, daughter and dog in Queens. Connect with Nina on Twitter!
