BigDog is one of the next generation military assist machines in development right now. Big Dog is a research and development project by Boston Dynamics. The Big Dog project is funded by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. Boston Dynamics claims Big Dog is the most advanced quadruped robot on earth. BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble and carries a 340 lb load. BigDog can even walk over terrain such as ice and snow to reach its destination. It also has amazing balancing skills, in the video you can watch someone kick Big Dog from the side and it knows how to recover itself without falling over. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight. This is an amazing robot, when the final production model makes it to the troops it will be a huge help in areas where it is unsafe for people to travel. From the U-Tube description
“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.”
Introducing “Robot Wrestling V2.3.0.1 Deathmatch”, “Round 1, Fight!” In a battle to see which robot can stay standing the longest, this little red robot seems to be taking first place! This cutthroat battle can only be won once all other bots have successfully been knocked down, literally. This little red robot is only in the lightweight division, but he is capable of knocking down a large robot twice his size, and he is very athletic too. He is constantly jumping and dodging and on the offensive ready to attack whenever his master desires. What a loyal robot, how could you ask for anything more? Did you see that bodyslam? That little red robot is pure perfection I tell you.
Now it’s time for you to make one of these robots with the Parallax Propeller microprocessor chip, if you decide to make one I will too, so we can battle! I’m serious about this. It would be awesome to make one of these with the Parallax Propeller chip. Probably wouldn’t be too expensive or difficult either. I looks like they used a RC radio controller to tell the little red robot where to go and what to do next. It look like the robots just have preset routines coded into the microprocessor and when certain button combinations are pressed, the robot will perform different moves. It looks simple, and it would almost be just like the fighting games for the PC or consoles but in real life instead! The Parallax Propeller chip is the way to go.
