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Scientists have created a centimeter-long soft robot capable of running at relatively high speed, reports New Scientist.

It can run 70 lengths of its body every second - more than three times faster than a cheetah compared to its body size. Researchers even had to buy a special high-speed camera to get footage of it running.

The robot is made of a rubber-like material twisted into an inverted U-shape with metal wires running through it. When the electric currents in these wires interact with the magnetic field around the robot, it moves. They hope the invention will eventually be used in medicine to deliver drugs or perform procedures inside the human body. "It took a few months to find a good 'leg' design. But now the robot can walk on any flat surface, such as rubber, wood or paper," says ‪Guoyong Mao of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. The robot can also run, spin in circles, swim in water, jump small obstacles and carry loads. The battery life is half an hour, with plans to increase this period in the future.

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