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Boston Dynamics' BigDog brings robotics to the military forefront
July 8, 2008
Can your dog carry over 300 pounds on its back and cross any kind of terrain? I know that mine cannot. Yet, Boston Dynamics is the proud owner of a dog that can. His name is BigDog, and unlike most dogs, he does not bark and happens to be made out of metal.
Boston Dynamics has been working on a series of robots that can take on a variety of tasks from climbing trees to swimming to running and jumping over concrete. Their largest robot, BigDog, is the size of a mule and weighs in at 165 pounds. The robot also has the ability to maintain secure footing on any terrain. The ultimate goal the developers have for this robot is to aid soldiers with its ability to carry over 300 pounds of gear on its back.
BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine and is equipped with an onboard computer to control motion as well as a number of sensors and motors to control the positioning of the legs. This robot also contains a gyroscope that uses a laser to measure the changes in its orientation.Other sensors within the robot are used to monitor hydraulic pressure, engine temperature, oil temperature, and battery charge.
The work to develop BigDog initially began in 2002 as a part of DARPA’s biorobotics program. Through a series of trials, Boston Dynamics has been able to increase the power and capabilities of their robots. However, the next phase of development is to enable their robots to respond to direct commands. The idea behind this is to ultimately enable soldiers to keep their robots at a specific distance if needed, and then be able to call the robot back to them if something is needed from their packs.
The interest in these robots has grown to include people outside of the military and engineering world, and has even led to the creation of a video spoof, which parodies the robot’s behavior.
Posted by Melissa D'Amico on July 8, 2008 | Comments (2)
