Cassie

Blue bipedal legs walk through a suburban neighborhood. — It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Photo: Dan Saelinger

Cassie is a dynamic bipedal robot that can walk and run in a fashion similar to that of humans or animals. It can handle diverse and complex terrain, making it perfect for search and rescue, or package delivery.

Creators

Agility Robotics and Oregon State University

Year

2016

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Research

Features

A series of images show a black torso base with two blue legs with foot pads walking into the screen from the left and out through the right. — See Cassie walk. Photos: Dan Saelinger

Did you know?

Cassie is named after the Cassowary, a flightless bird with a similar leg shape.

An orange legged robot and a red legged robot. — Cassie's shell comes in many different colors. Photo: Agility Robotics/Oregon State University

Teaching Cassie to climb stairs. Video: Agility Robotics

History

Founded in 2015, Agility Robotics develops highly capable bipedal robots for applications that include logistics, telepresence, automated inspection, entertainment, and research. The company's goal is to build legged machines that can go anywhere a person can go. Its first robot, released in 2016, is a bipedal platform called Cassie, a dynamic walking robot that could traverse rough terrain and step over obstacles. It later learned to climb stairs. Unveiled in 2019, Digit is Agility's second robot. Its legs are similar to Cassie's, but Digit is equipped with a torso full of sensors as well as a pair of arms, used for balance, mobility, and manipulation.

Silver robotic legs attached to a black middle section. — Cassie, uncovered. Photo: Agility Robotics/Oregon State University

The robot in pieces in the trunk of a car. — Travelling in style. Photo: Agility Robotics/Oregon State University

Specs

Overview: Strong and durable, able to handle experiments outdoors without a safety tether. Extremely energy efficient, runs for many hours on a single battery charge.
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2016
Website: agilityrobotics.com
Width: 55 cm
Height: 115 cm
Length: 40 cm
Weight: 31 kg
Speed: 5 km/h
Sensors: MEMS IMU, absolute and incremental encoders.
Actuators: Brushless DC motors, with custom-designed transmissions
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 10 (Legs: 5 DoF x 2)
Materials: Aluminum; thermoformed polycarbonate variants; carbon fiber composite components.
Compute: Main real-time control computer with Intel Atom, custom microcontroller boards at each limb. Secondary Intel Nuc I5 for customer use, including any non-real-time processes.
Software: MathWorks Simulink real-time for control computer. Any software allowed on secondary computer.
Power: 20.5 Ah battery at 48V, with estimated 5 hours operation in mixed-use (100 W power draw while standing, ~300 W power draw during walking). Ability for much higher power output for a jump or running.
Cost: $300,000 (exact amount depends on application and quantity)