Most Advanced Autonomous Robot on Earth

This is the improved(Upgraded in March 2008) version of BigDog at this moment the most advanced robot the world knows, featuring:
- Walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads

- Is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system

- Legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next

- Measures 1 meter long, 70cm tall and 75 kg weight.


BigDog's brain is an on board computer that controls movement and adjusts many types of sensors on the robot. The robot's movement system controls the dynamics of its behavior and manages to keep it balanced, make him steer, or adjust energy as conditions require.

BigDog's sensors for movement adjust joint force, joint position, ground contact, ground load, a stereo vision system and a laser gyroscope. A smaller number of sensors concentrate their attention on the internal state of BigDog, analyzing and adjusting the oil temperature,hydraulic pressure, engine temperature, battery charge, rpm and others.

At this moment the new version of BigDog has reached a new personal best record as follows:
- BigDog runs at 4 mph
- Climbs slopes up to 35 degrees
- Walks across rubble
- Carries a 340lb/154Kg load.

BigDog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with the goal of creating robots that have rough-terrain mobility that can take them anywhere on Earth that people and animals can go. The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA).