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Friday, February 27, 2009
BigDog robot goes through paces at Ft. Benning
By Mass High Tech staff
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The BigDog four-legged robot made by Waltham-based Boston Dynamics Inc. set a new autonomous distance record for legged robots last year by traveling 12.8 miles without human intervention. And the Defense Department-funded robot recently spent some time undergoing tests at Ft. Benning, Ga., according to a video from the Ft. Benning news site the Benning Report.
The BigDog followed a series of GPS waypoints to set the record and walked at a rate of 2.5 mph, avoiding obstacles autonomously across a varied terrain until its fuel ran out.
Boston Dynamics engineers were contracted in August 2007 to develop a robot with the ability to run, maneuver and jump to avoid obstacles. The robot would measure 1 meter tall and 2 meters wide, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The goal of the project, which was slotted to last 15 months, is to produce a robot with animal-like strength, speed and mobility, according to defense officials.
The DARPA contract, which was commissioned by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego, includes three one-year contract renewals valued at total of $40 million. Waltham-based Boston Dynamics spun out from MIT and was founded in 1992.
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