h+ Magazine

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight.

About Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics is an engineering company that specializes in robotics and human simulation. Our customers have applications that range from military robotics to simulation-based training to physics-based virtual prototyping.

The company began as a spinoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where Marc Raibert and his colleagues first developed robots that run and maneuver like animals. Their groundbreaking work inspired the launch of Boston Dynamics in 1992.

Today, organizations worldwide, from the United States Army, Navy and Marines to Sony Corporation, turn to Boston Dynamics for advice and solutions to their robotics and human simulation needs. Our unusual combination of advanced research and skilled engineering yields sophisticated yet practical solutions and products. We are setting the standard for human simulation technology worldwide and our robots are unparalleled in agility and rough-terrain capability.