Robot funded by US military successfully runs 5K

Students at Oregon State University created a bipedal robot that used machine learning to teach itself how to successfully complete a 5K racecourse, the school announced.

The history-making bot, dubbed Cassie, traversed 5 kilometers, or 3.1 miles, of gravel, sidewalk, and fields and completed the course on a single charge in about 53 minutes.

The successful experiment showed the robot can use its two, human-like legs to keep a steady but varied pace across multiple outdoor terrains, paving the way for a future filled with automatons working alongside humans, the school said.