Speed

MIT's mini cheetah robot has reached its fastest speed yet, hitting 8.72 mph thanks to a new model-free reinforcement learning system that allows the robot to figure out on its own the best way to run and allows it to adapt to different terrain.

Volvo has followed through on its plans to introduce a 112-mph (180-km/h) speed limit across its entire model lineup, today announcing that every one of its vehicles to roll off the production line will now feature this functionality built in.

Porsche unleashes its 590-hp Taycan at Nürburgring and leaves fellow four-door EVs in its wake.

After experiencing a false start of sorts at Bonneville Speed Week last month, Volkswagen has now returned to the famous salt flats and gone home with a world record in tow with a modified 2019 Jetta zipping past the land speed record for its class.

It can be tricky to keep track of road signs on the move, especially in heavy traffic or poor conditions. The Volkswagen Dynamic Road Sign Display makes it easier to check how fast you should be going, flashing an image of new speed signs in front of the driver.

​​Judging by the recent success of Omata's One, a lot of cyclists like the idea of a speedometer that combines an analog display with electronic guts. The Moskito, however, not only serves as an analog/digital bicycle speedometer, but it can also be taken off the bike and worn as a smartwatch.​

We're very used to writing about cars with names like "Ferrari" and "McLaren" blowing past the 200-mph (322-km/h) mark, but this month, it's the more everyday names of Volkswagen and Honda. Both automakers drove specially prepared land speed record cars to over 200 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

​​Using archival data from ESA's XMM-Newton orbital telescope, a team of astronomers from the University of Michigan has calculated the speed of the vast halo composed of incredibly hot gas that surrounds the Milky Way.

The curtain has fallen on another Goodwood Festival of Speed, leaving just a faint whiff of gasoline in the air around Lord March's estate. Everything from Bugatti's Chiron to the Aston Martin Vulcan made a run up the hill this year, with a healthy serving of classic racing goodness in between.

As a quadriplegic, the only way Sam Schmidt can drive is using Arrow's open-source semi-autonomous car. Having first demonstrated the technology at Indianapolis in 2014, Schmidt has returned with a modified version of Arrow's Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and clocked 152 mph (245 km/h) on the famous oval​

​There was a time when some bikes came with mechanical speedometers. While no one is suggesting bringing those back, Omata is taking a step in that direction – its One speedometer uses modern GPS tech to track the rider's speed, but that information is displayed on a good ol' analog dial.​

The annual World Human Powered Speed Challenge draws cyclists from around the world seeking to push the limits of pedal-powered motion, but it was Canadian Todd Reichart who left the competition in his wake to clock a top speed of 85.71 mph (137.9 km/h).