Boston Dynamics BigDog

波士顿动力 BigDog（大狗）Advanced

Boston Dynamics' military hydraulic quadruped from 2005 onward, a landmark in dynamic-balance legged robots.

BigDog was developed by Boston Dynamics together with Harvard's Concord Field Station and other partners, funded by DARPA starting in 2005, with the goal of carrying supplies for soldiers over rough terrain. It is about 1 meter long and weighs about 109 kg, with an internal combustion engine driving a hydraulic pump that powers its four legs, reportedly able to carry a load of about 150 kg. It is best known for a video where it stayed on its feet after being kicked from the side and slipping on ice, which was many people's first look at a legged robot with genuine dynamic balance. A later military version, the LS3, was never adopted, reportedly in part because it was too loud. Its technology lineage continued into the later electric quadruped, Spot.

ExampleIn BigDog's demonstration video, an engineer kicks the robot from the side and it slips on ice, but it adjusts its steps and recovers its balance both times.

Also called: BigDog
Related: Quadruped Robot · Boston Dynamics · Hydraulic Actuation · Boston Dynamics Spot · Dynamic Stability · Push Recovery
Sources: BigDog - Wikipedia
BigDog - ROBOTS: Your Guide to the World of Robotics