Sebastien Cotton and Colton Black loved robots but were discouraged by the slow speeds and difficulty encountered when controlling robots. Their frustration led to the creation of Outrunner, and they claim it to be the world's most advanced running robot. Their company, Robotics Unlimited, is currently seeking Kickstarter funding to mass produce the Outrunners.
Outrunner was inspired by biology and designed to emulate a running motion. From animal biometrics to computer simulation to mechanical design to algorithm development to efficient electronic power consumption, the robot has been engineered and re-engineered.
The end product is a robot that is fast, stable and efficient. Robotics Unlimited broke the world speed record for legged robots during developmental testing. 45 mile per hour speeds have been reached on a treadmill while 25 mile per hour speeds were recorded on an outdoor track.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/138364285/outrunner-the-worlds-most-advanced-running-robot
Future plans include production of modular upgrades to the robots to enhance performance and address issues. One thing that I found incredible was the plan for a running robot competition to take place six months after the Kickstarter bots have been delivered.
Currently two levels of robot are offered. Outrunner Core is the base model with a top speed of ten miles per hour and a battery life of one hour. Outrunner Performance is the upgraded model with a top speed of twenty miles per hour and a battery life of two hours, along with the option to have Smartphone control of your bot.
The Kickstarter funding video focuses mainly on the robots undergoing testing and running. The running motion looks amazing and the robots look to be stable and very fast. Current plans are to ship the Outrunners to Kickstarter backers in July 2015.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/138364285/outrunner-the-worlds-most-advanced-running-robot