For example, as it is right now, Alpha Dog is really loud. That could give away troops positions to the enemy. This is one area where it could be improved before the live field tests, which are scheduled 18 months from now.

So, from now until then, Boston Dynamics has several goals, like making the robot capable of traveling 20-miles in a 24-hour period without refueling. They will also add voice recognition so that Marines can give audible commands to Alpha Dog. I can’t wait to see what happens when this thing gets even more capable.

[DARPA via IEEE Spectrum via Geek]

Not only can HyQ run and jump, it’s legs are also actively compliant, which means that the robot can change the stiffness of each limb. It’s impressive to watch it do it’s thing in the video. In some ways, more impressive than it’s predecessors.

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This ‘bot can negotiate rough terrain, thanks to actuators that absorb shocks and vibrations without damage to the body. It can even kick! HyQ weighs 70 kilograms and can walk and trot at speeds up to 6 kilometers per hour. It can rear up like a horse, as well as squat jump and get all four feet off the ground. This looks like the most capable robot dog/horse yet.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

Watching the video is somewhat eerie, because you can see Boston Dymanics’ BigDog climbing a forested hill, all by itself. It can carry heavy loads and is powered by an engine that drives the hydraulic actuators needed for locomotion. BigDog is the size of a large dog or a small mule: 3 feet in length, 2.5 feet in height, and it weighs about 240lbs.

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The onboard computer keeps everything balanced. It can run at 4mph, climb slopes up to 35 degrees, walk across rubble and climb muddy hiking trails. It will also walk in snow and water and can carry a 340lbs payload, which is pretty cool.

Check out more videos of BigDog in action over Boston Dynamics’ YouTube channel.

This robot was developed by Yasunori Yamada from the University of Tokyo, and the quadruped robot can jump, walk, and gallop (sort of). Yamada-san is studying for his Master’s, and I have to say that his PIGORASS robot is pretty impressive. The ‘bot has got a simulated neural system, which means that you don’t have to program every eventuality into it. The artificial pneumatic muscles do the job.

I just wonder when I’ll have a fully functioning robot dog that can go walkies on its own.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Plastic Pals]

Back in the late 1960s, GE created the Cybernetic Anthropomorphous Machine (CAM). The so-called “Walking Truck” robot was controlled directly by an operator inside a cage, who used a series of levers not dissimilar from those you’d find in construction equipment to control the ‘bot’s movements, and mimicking his own movements. Apparently, driving the CAM was so challenging for the operator, that he’d have to take a break after about 15 minutes. I wonder if those Imperial Walker pilots had to stop every 15 minutes too.

Check out CAM in action in the archival footage below:

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Developed for a U.S. Army experiment, the CAM never saw the light of day, but at least at the time the footage was shot – it was sitting in an Army warehouse in Detroit. I wonder if it’s still there, or if some lucky sucker picked it up at an auction at some point.

[via VideoSift]

Designed by Boston Dynamics, working with researchers from The University of Pennsylvania’s Kod*lab, the RiSE V3 robot can work its way up poles without cracking so much as a sweat. The 28-inch long quadruped robot can make its way up vertical terrains at a rate of 21cm (a little more than 8 inches) per second. That’s definitely faster than I could climb a telephone pole.

Created for use in search and rescue missions, reconnaissance and surveillance, the four-legged robot has claws crafted from surgical needles, letting it grip vertical surfaces. With claws like that, I’m really glad that Skynet hasn’t gotten their hands on an army of these. Yet.

While the RiSE V3 robot manages to quickly shimmy its way up a pole in the video clip below, they’ve still got it tied off to a rope so their precious creation doesn’t come crashing to the ground when it reaches the top of the pole.

And in another cat-like move, I’m not sure if they’ve figured out how to get it to climb back down to the ground safely.

[via Technology Review via Designboom]