[LINK] DARPA's BigDog

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

BigDog: 'The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth'

http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a 
quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries 
heavy loads. 

BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation 
system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant 
elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next.

BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 
0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight. 

BigDog has an on-board computer that controls locomotion, servos the legs 
and handles a wide variety of sensors. BigDog’s control system manages the 
dynamics of its behavior to keep it balanced, steer, navigate, and 
regulate energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion include 
joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a laser 
gyroscope, and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal 
state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, 
engine temperature, rpm, battery charge and others.

In separate trials, BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, 
walks across rubble, and carries a 340 lb load.

BigDog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with the goal of creating 
robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on 
Earth that people and animals can go.  The program is funded by the 
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA).

--
Cheers Jim
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia