Big Dog

A quadruped robot that walks and carries heavy loads. The robot works as a pack mule to assist soldiers in carrying their gear. BigDog is developed to function as a mechanical mule. The powered autonomous quadruped is capable of carrying significant payloads, operating outdoors, with static and dynamic mobility, and has fully integrated sensing and navigation. Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR, and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine functions, battery charge, and others. BigDog runs at 10 kmh, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, climbs muddy hiking trails, walks in snow and water, and carries up to 150kg loads.

Boston Dynamics

Specifications

Height125 cm
Length100 cm
Width30 cm
Weight113.4 kg
Speed11.26 km/h
ComputingPC/104 board with Pentium 4 class CPU
Actuators16 custom hydraulic actuators
PowerHydraulic pump

Overview

BigDog is  developed to function as  a  mechanical  mule. The powered autonomous quadruped is capable  of  carrying significant payloads, operating outdoors, with static and dynamic mobility, and has fully integrated sensing and navigation.

Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR, and a stereo vision system. Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine functions, battery charge, and others.

BigDog runs at 10 kmh, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, climbs muddy hiking trails, walks in snow and water, and carries up to 150kg loads.

References

Background information about the Big Dog project, including technical specifications about the robot, as well as more background on the motivations by the creators to develop this quadruped robot.

Marc Raibert, Kevin Blankespoor, Gabriel Nelson, Rob Playter and the BigDog Team.

Wevolver 2023