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Brian Finke
Meet Butch, the robot who's about to chase Aibo into the tar pits. This 43-pound mechasaurus, an aluminum replica of the plant-eating protoceratops, boasts a 700-MHz brain and, amazingly, will eventually move as fast as a galloping dog – a steady 10 to 15 mph. MIT Leg Lab researcher Peter Dilworth, who gave us the first large-scale walking bipedal bot a few years back, plans to sell his dinos for about $100,000 a pop. The difference between Butch and the rest of the robots is in the joints. Traditional designs rely on position control: Their limbs move until they hit a certain angle. Butch's limbs move until they sense resistance. As a result, its gait is smooth and supple, not stiff like a windup Godzilla. But the real significance of the technology is that it paves the way for humanoid bots, allowing them to be built lighter and cheaper.
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