Boston Dynamics
Encyclopedia
Boston Dynamics is an engineering
and robotics
design company best known for the development of BigDog
, a quadruped robot
designed for the U.S. military with funding from DARPA, and DI-Guy, COTS software for realistic human simulation. Early in the company's history, it worked with the American Systems Corporation under a contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) to replace naval training videos for aircraft launch operations with interactive 3D
computer simulations featuring DI-Guy characters.
Marc Raibert
is the company's president and project manager. He spun the company off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1992.
created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics, in conjunction with Foster-Miller
, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
in the hopes that it will be able to serve as a robotic pack mule
to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for vehicles. Instead of wheels, BigDog uses four legs for movement, allowing it to move across surfaces that would defeat wheels. What has been called "the world's most ambitious legged robot" is designed to carry 340 pounds (154.2 kg) alongside a soldier at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h), traversing rough terrain at inclines up to 35 degrees.
developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics for research. Unlike BigDog which is run by Boston Dynamics, LittleDog is intended as a testbed for other institutions. Boston Dynamics maintains the robots for DARPA as a standard platform.
Each of RiSE's six legs is powered by a pair of electric motor
s. An onboard computer controls leg motion, manages communications, and services a variety of sensors, including joint position sensors, leg strain sensors and foot contact sensors.
Boston Dynamics developed RiSE in conjunction with researchers at University of Pennsylvania
, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Lewis and Clark College. RiSE was funded by DARPA.
. It is able to sweat. It is the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a real person. Much of its technology is derived from BigDog.
.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
design company best known for the development of BigDog
BigDog
BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is long, stands tall, and weighs , about the size of a small mule. It is capable of traversing...
, a quadruped robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
designed for the U.S. military with funding from DARPA, and DI-Guy, COTS software for realistic human simulation. Early in the company's history, it worked with the American Systems Corporation under a contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) to replace naval training videos for aircraft launch operations with interactive 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
computer simulations featuring DI-Guy characters.
Marc Raibert
Marc Raibert
Marc Raibert is a former MIT professor who founded the MIT Leg Lab in the 1980s, and went on to found Boston Dynamics, a simulation and robotics company in 1992. Raibert developed the first self-balancing hopping robots, a significant step forward in robotics...
is the company's president and project manager. He spun the company off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1992.
BigDog
BigDog is a quadruped robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics, in conjunction with Foster-Miller
Foster-Miller
Foster-Miller, Inc., is a United States based military robotics manufacturer, a division of the United Kingdom's QinetiQ North America. Its two best-known products are TALON robots and LAST Armor....
, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military...
in the hopes that it will be able to serve as a robotic pack mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for vehicles. Instead of wheels, BigDog uses four legs for movement, allowing it to move across surfaces that would defeat wheels. What has been called "the world's most ambitious legged robot" is designed to carry 340 pounds (154.2 kg) alongside a soldier at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h), traversing rough terrain at inclines up to 35 degrees.
LittleDog
LittleDog is a small quadruped robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics for research. Unlike BigDog which is run by Boston Dynamics, LittleDog is intended as a testbed for other institutions. Boston Dynamics maintains the robots for DARPA as a standard platform.
RiSE
RiSE is a robot that climbs vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. RiSE uses feet with micro-claws to climb on textured surfaces. RiSE changes posture to conform to the curvature of the climbing surface and its tail helps RiSE balance on steep ascents. RiSE is 0.25 m long, weighs 2 kg, and travels 0.3 m/s.Each of RiSE's six legs is powered by a pair of electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s. An onboard computer controls leg motion, manages communications, and services a variety of sensors, including joint position sensors, leg strain sensors and foot contact sensors.
Boston Dynamics developed RiSE in conjunction with researchers at University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Lewis and Clark College. RiSE was funded by DARPA.
PETMAN
PETMAN is a bipedal device constructed for testing chemical protection suitsPersonal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in...
. It is able to sweat. It is the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a real person. Much of its technology is derived from BigDog.
Legged Squad Support System
Militarized version of BigDogBigDog
BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is long, stands tall, and weighs , about the size of a small mule. It is capable of traversing...
.