'Raptor' Robot Sprints Like Velociraptor (Video)

Say hello to the Raptor: a robot created by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) that runs like a 70-million-year-old dinosaur.

Steady on two legs, the velociraptor-inspired robot is capable of running up to 28 miles per hour (mph) on a treadmill, according to CNET. And with the Raptor's speed and agility, it's competing to be the fastest robot in the world.

It can already out-run Olympic sprinter and the fastest known human with a record speed of 27.4 mph, and it's almost as fast as Boston Dynamics' Cheetah, which can run at 29.3 mph on a treadmill. However, the Cheetah has four legs to propel it forward, while the Raptor runs on just two. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

Though felines typically inspire most robotic designs, Raptor creator and KAIST doctoral student, Jongwon Park, along with colleagues Jinwoo Lee, Jinyi Lee, Kyong-Soo Kim, and professor Soohyun Kim, had something a bit different in mind.

The lightweight robot weighs in at just about seven pounds, and is one of the first to use a tail to help it maneuver over and around various obstacles.

Though these robots are stuck on treadmills for the time being, with strong support from a bar, Boston Dynamics said they will be releasing a new robot, hopefully by next year, known as the WildCat: a new version of Cheetah that will be able to run outdoors.

Want to learn more about this robot? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.