Boston Dynamics: Difference between revisions
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=== PETMAN === |
=== PETMAN === |
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PETMAN is a bipedal device constructed for testing [[Personal protective equipment|chemical protection suits]]. It is able to sweat. Much of |
PETMAN is a bipedal device constructed for testing [[Personal protective equipment|chemical protection suits]]. It is able to sweat. Much of its technology is derived from BigDog.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CUudkjEG4&feature=player_embedded Video of petman on the Boston Dynamics youtube channel]</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 16:14, 4 November 2009
Boston Dynamics is a small 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,[1] 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.[2]
Marc Raibert is the company's president and project manager. He spun the company off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992.[3]
Products
BigDog is a quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics, in conjunction with Foster-Miller, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station.[4] 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 120 pounds (about 54.43 kg) alongside a soldier at three miles per hour (about 1.341 m/s), traversing rough terrain at inclines up to 45 degrees.[5][6]
LittleDog
LittleDog is a small quadruped robot 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.[7][8]
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 motors. 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 University. RiSE was funded by DARPA.
PETMAN
PETMAN is a bipedal device constructed for testing chemical protection suits. It is able to sweat. Much of its technology is derived from BigDog.[9]
References
- ^ David Hambling, Robotic 'pack mule' displays stunning reflexes, New Scientist, 3 March 2006.
- ^ Sharon Foster, "Updating Technology Without Upping the Price: Boston Dynamics completes first phase of catapult trainer upgrade", (subscription required), National Defense, November 1, 2001.
- ^ About Boston Dynamics (2005), Retrieved on 4 July, 2007.
- ^ "Boston Dynamics". Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ Lerner, Preston. "Robotic dog of war", Popular Science / CNN.com, March 8, 2006. Accessed July 4, 2007.
- ^ Loades-Carter, Jonathan. "Worth Watching: Robotic pack mule", Financial Times, march 6, 2006. Accessed July 4, 2007.
- ^ Greenemeier, Larry "DARPA Pushes Machine Learning with Legged LittleDog Robot", Scientific American, April 15, 2008
- ^ "LittleDog: The Legged Learning Robot". Accessed on October 20, 2008.
- ^ Video of petman on the Boston Dynamics youtube channel