BigDog

A quadruped robot walks at the edge of water.
BigDog on vacation in Thailand. Photo: Boston Dynamics

BigDog is a dynamic quadruped robot that walks, runs, and carries heavy loads. It works as a pack mule to assist soldiers in carrying gear. You can even kick it, and this robotic beast won't notice.

Creator

Boston Dynamics

Year
2005
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
A series of images spin a quadruped, dog-like robot with its electronics exposed.
Interactive
See a 360° view of BigDog. Photos: Carlton SooHoo

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Overall Rating

Would you want this robot?

Appearance

Neutral

Did you know?

The engine that powers BigDog was taken from a go-kart.

A quadruped robot is lifted on a harness while a man uses a tool on it's leg.
BigDog might have a leak. Photo: Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
BigDog goes to the beach. Video: Boston Dynamics

More videos

Audio

Marc Raibert, founder and CEO of Boston Dynamics, explains the origins of the BigDog project and reveals where the name BigDog came from.

Marc Raibert, founder and CEO of Boston Dynamics, explains the origins of the BigDog project and reveals where the name BigDog came from.

Photo: Jodi Hilton/The New York Times/Redux
Marc Raibert discusses BigDog's transformation into a YouTube sensation.

Marc Raibert discusses BigDog's transformation into a YouTube sensation.

Image: Boston Dynamics

History

Boston Dynamics, led by Marc Raibert, started developing BigDog in 1995 with funding from DARPA. The robot used many ideas conceived by Raibert at the Leg Laboratory, which originated in 1980 at Carnegie Mellon and moved to MIT in 1986. Researchers from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Harvard University collaborated on the BigDog project. The goal was to build an unmanned, legged vehicle with rough terrain mobility superior to that of existing wheeled and tracked vehicles. The ideal system would travel anywhere a person or animal could go using their legs, run for many hours at a time, and carry its own fuel and payload. Boston Dynamics built and tested several versions of BigDog, which demonstrated impressive feats of balance and agility. In 2011, the company announced that it was developing a bigger, stronger quadruped, called AlphaDog.

Specs

Overview

Able to carry payloads of 150 kg (340 lb). Capable of dynamic walking on rubble, mud, snow, water, ice, and slopes up to 35 degrees.

Status

Inactive

Year

2005

Website
Width
30 cm
Height
125 cm
Length
100 cm
Weight
113.4 kg
Speed
11.26 km/h
Sensors

Legs with joint position and force sensors. Body with gyroscope, LIDAR, and stereo vision system. Hydraulic system with pressure and temperature sensors.

Actuators

16 custom hydraulic actuators

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
20 (16 powered, 4 passive)
Compute

PC/104 board with Pentium 4 class CPU

Software

QNX real-time OS with custom C++ code for control, sensing, data collection, and communication.

Power

Hydraulic pump driven by 15-horsepower internal combustion engine.