Boston Dynamics
It would be scary to be chased by a military robot. It would also be scary to be chased by a cheetah. So, imagine what it would be like to have a military robotic cheetah sprinting after you. Such a scenario could one day be possible, as robotics company Boston Dynamics recently announced that America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded it a contract to design and build such a ... critter. The contract also includes the creation of an agile, bipedal humanoid robot. It’s hard to say which one might ultimately be creepier. Read More
Walking quadrupeds are being cast to play a major role in the rapidly unfolding age of robotics. The platform promises versatility far beyond that of wheeled-vehicles and will undoubtedly find applications in a wide variety of fields. Not surprisingly, the development of quadrupeds is being driven by the military and DARPA has recently boosted its efforts by awarding Boston Dynamics $32 million for the prototype phase of its Legged Squad Support System (LS3) program. Read More
REX - robotic beast of burden hits the market
The military potential of robotics has long been one of the primary driving forces in the funding of research and development in the field. Aerial UAVs transformed armed conflict so dramatically that a new wave of robotic military capabilities are being readied for the battlefield in the hope of providing a similar competitive edge. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) recently began showing a battery-powered robotic beast of burden which can carry up to 200 kilograms, run three days without a recharge, and follow and respond to the voice commands of its master. Though designed for use on the battlefield, REX has myriad commercial applications in agriculture, manufacturing, and beyond. Read More
August 19, 2008 We’ve written about Boston Dynamics’s BigDog Quadruped Robot before, but felt it was worth updating given there’s an impressive new video out showing the incredible beastie doing its stuff. BigDog is a gasoline-powered, hydraulically-actuated quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs over almost any terrain. Watch BigDog get kicked heavily and recover, walk across ice, rocks and incredibly, carry twice its weight while doing it. The DARPA-funded robot is chock full of technology, squeezing gyroscopes, a bunch of sensors and its own stereo vision system into a weight of just 75 kg. Read More
