BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. BigDog climbs in the woods, keeps its balance when kicked and when slipping on ice, travels through snow and mud, jogs 5 mph, and climbs some rubble. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

Changing Your Idea of What Robots Can Do

Boston Dynamics builds advanced robots with remarkable behavior: mobility, agility, dexterity and speed.
We use sensor-based controls and computation to unlock the capabilities of complex mechanisms.
Our world-class development teams take projects from initial concept to proof-of-principle prototyping to build-test-build engineering, to field testing and low-rate production.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. BigDog climbs in the woods, keeps its balance when kicked and when slipping on ice, travels through snow and mud, jogs 5 mph, and climbs some rubble. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

Organizations worldwide, from DARPA, the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps to Sony Corporation turn to Boston Dynamics for advice and for help creating the most advanced robots on Earth.

LittleDog - The Legged Locomotion Learning Robot

LittleDog is a quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion.

LittleDog is a quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion. Scientists at leading institutions use LittleDog to probe the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough-terrain locomotion. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

Scientists at leading institutions use LittleDog to probe the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough-terrain locomotion.

LittleDog is a quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion. Scientists at leading institutions use LittleDog to probe the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough-terrain locomotion. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

LittleDog is used at MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, USC, Univ. Pennsylvania and IHMC as part of a DARPA-funded program on advanced robotics.

LittleDog has four legs, each powered by three electric motors.

LittleDog is a quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion. Scientists at leading institutions use LittleDog to probe the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough-terrain locomotion. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

The legs have a large range of motion.
The robot is strong enough for climbing and dynamic locomotion gaits.

The onboard PC-level computer does sensing, actuator control and communications.

LittleDog is a quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion. Scientists at leading institutions use LittleDog to probe the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough-terrain locomotion. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

LittleDog's sensors measure joint angles, motor currents, body orientation and foot/ground contact.
Control programs access the robot through the Boston Dynamics Robot API.
Onboard lithium polymer batteries allow for 30 minutes of continuous operation without recharging.
Wireless communications and data logging support remote operation and data analysis.

LittleDog development is funded by the DARPA Information Processing Technology Office.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics robots.
It is a rough-terrain robot that walks, runs, climbs and carries heavy loads.

BigDog climbing a snow-covered hill during testing. BigDog climbs in the woods, keeps its balance when kicked and when slipping on ice, travels through snow and mud, jogs 5 mph, and climbs some rubble. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

BigDog is powered by an engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system.

BigDog climbing a snow-covered hill during testing. BigDog climbs in the woods, keeps its balance when kicked and when slipping on ice, travels through snow and mud, jogs 5 mph, and climbs some rubble. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

BigDog has four legs that are articulated like an animal’s, with compliant elements to absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule; about 3 feet long, 2.5 feet tall and weighs 240 lbs.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. Illustration showing BigDog’s major components.BigDog climbs in the woods, keeps its balance when kicked and when slipping on ice, travels through snow and mud, jogs 5 mph, and climbs some rubble. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

BigDog's on-board computer controls locomotion, servos the legs and handles a variety of sensors.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. Control Diagram. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

BigDog’s control system keeps it balanced, navigates, and regulates its energetics as conditions vary.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a gyroscope, LIDAR and a stereo vision system.
Other sensors focus on the internal state of BigDog, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine functions, battery charge and others.

BigDog - The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

In separate tests BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, climbs a muddy hiking trail, walks in snow and water, and carries a 340 lb load.

BigDog set a world's record for legged vehicles by traveling 12.8 miles without stopping or refueling.
The ultimate goal for BigDog is to develop a robot that can go anywhere people and animals can go.

The program is funded by the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA.

More BigDog videos are available at

www.YouTube.com/BostonDynamics  

PETMAN - BigDog gets a Big Brother

PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the US Army.

Unlike previous suit testers, which had to be supported mechanically and had a limited repertoire of motion, PETMAN will balance itself and move freely; walking, crawling and doing a variety of suit-stressing calisthenics during exposure to chemical warfare agents.

PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the US Army. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

PETMAN will also simulate human physiology within the protective suit by controlling temperature, humidity and sweating when necessary, all to provide realistic test conditions.

Natural, agile movement is essential for PETMAN to simulate how a soldier stresses protective clothing under realistic conditions.
The robot will have the shape and size of a standard human, making it the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a real person.

PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the US Army. The robot will have the shape and size of a standard human, making it the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a real person. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

The development program has a 13 month design phase followed by a 17 month build, installation and validation phase, with delivery of the robot taking place in 2011.

Boston Dynamics' partners for the program are Midwest Research Institute (MRI), Measurement Technology Northwest, Oak Ridge National Lab as well as Smith Carter CUH2A (SCC) and HHI Corporation who will construct the chamber.

The work is being done for the US Army PD-TESS.

RHex Devours Rough Terrain

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

RHex has a sealed body, making it fully operational in wet weather, muddy and swampy conditions, and it can swim on the surface or dive underwater.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

RHex's remarkable terrain capabilities have been validated in government-run independent testing.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

RHex is controlled remotely from an operator control unit at distances up to 600 meters.
A video uplink provides front and rear views from onboard cameras.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

RHex also uplinks navigational data from onboard compass and GPS and from payload sensors.

RHex is a rugged man-portable robot with extraordinary rough terrain mobility. RHex climbs in rock fields, mud, sand, vegetation, railroad tracks, telephone poles and up slopes and stairways. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

A downlink allows the operator to drive and operate mission payloads.

RiSE: The Amazing Climbing Robot

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 is a robot that climbs vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

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.

RiSE is a robot that climbs vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

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.

RiSE is a robot that climbs vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

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.

SquishBot - Advanced Chemistry Robot that Inches, Climbs and Deforms

SquishBot is a program to develop a new class of soft, shape-changing robot.

The goal is to design systems that can transform themselves from hard to soft and from soft to hard, upon command.

SquishBot - Advanced Chemistry Robot that Inches, Climbs and Deforms. SquishBot is a program to develop a new class of soft, shape-changing robot. The goal is to design systems that can transform themselves from hard to soft and from soft to hard, upon command. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

Another goal is to create systems that change their critical dimensions by large amounts, as much as 10x.
Such robots will be like soft animals that can squeeze themselves through small openings and into tight places.

The Boston Dynamics-lead team includes researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specialize in novel materials and deformable structures.

SquishBot - Advanced Chemistry Robot that Inches, Climbs and Deforms. SquishBot is a program to develop a new class of soft, shape-changing robot. The goal is to design systems that can transform themselves from hard to soft and from soft to hard, upon command. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

The program leverages MIT's previous work developing slug robots and Boston Dynamics' work on robots that crawl, walk and climb.

SquishBot is funded by the Defense Sciences Office at DARPA as part of the ChemBot program.

LS3 - Legged Squad Support Systems

LS3 is a dynamic robot designed to go anywhere Soldiers and Marines go on foot.

Each LS3 will carry up to 400 lbs of gear and enough fuel for missions covering 20 miles and lasting 24 hours.

LS3 is a dynamic robot designed to go anywhere Soldiers and Marines go on foot. Courtesy of Boston Dynamics

LS3 will not need a driver, because it will automatically follow a leader using computer vision or travel to designated locations using sensing and GPS.
The development of LS3 will take 30 months, with first walk out scheduled for 2012.

The development of LS3 is being funded by DARPA and the US Marine Corps.

Boston Dynamics has assembled an extraordinary team to develop the LS3, including engineers and scientists from Boston Dynamics, Bell Helicopter, AAI Corporation, Carnegie Mellon, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Woodward HRT.


About Boston Dynamics


Boston Dynamics is an engineering company that specializes in building dynamic robots and software for human simulation.

The company began as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where National Academy of Engineering member Marc Raibert and his colleagues first developed robots that ran and maneuvered like animals.

They founded the company in 1992, and their ground-breaking work continues to inspire several of the company's activities.

Today the company creates a variety of innovative robots, including BigDog, a quadruped robot for travel on rough-terrain, PETMAN, an anthropomorphic robot for testing equipment, RISE, a robot that climbs vertical surfaces, SquishBot, a shape-changing chemical robot that moves through tight space, and many others.

The company also develops tools for human simulation.
DI-Guy is a human simulation product used for simulation-based training, UAV training, law-enforcement training, mission-planning and many other applications.
DI-Guy has become the defacto standard for human simulation as used in military applications; it is used by leading organizations world-wide, including the all branches of the US Armed Forces.

Digital Biomechanics is a physics-based human simulation product used to design and evaluate equipment used on the human body, such as backpacks, helmets, body armor and the like.

Boston Dynamics has an extraordinary technical team of engineers and scientists.
The team seamlessly combines advanced analytical thinking with boots-in-the-mud practicality.
We pride ourselves in building machines that are both innovative and actually work.


Jobs

We need bright, hard-working people like you to join our exceptional team.

Boston Dynamics is growing quickly to keep up with a fast-growing industry.
If you see a position below that looks like it was written for you please send us a resume at
jobs@BostonDynamics.com 


Lead Mechanical Design Engineer

Title: Lead Mechanical Design Engineer
Location of Job: Waltham, Massachusetts

Boston Dynamics, a leading developer of high mobility robots, and the maker of BigDog, LittleDog, PETMAN, RiSE and other innovative machines, seeks a mechanical designer to help create the next generation of high-performance, high strength-to-weight ratio, servo-controlled robots.

We are looking for someone who can lead the design of light-weight, high performance, articulated 3D systems with extensive sensing and actuation.

In addition to performing key mechanical design tasks yourself, you will lead systems engineering tasks including oversight of integrated electronics and sensing.

You will play a key contributor and leadership role within a larger mechanical design team that contributes to multiple on-going robotics efforts.

We require a Mechanical Engineering degree.
Masters or PhD degrees are desired as long as they reflect pragmatic, design oriented efforts.
We prefer 5 or more years of professional experience.
The ideal candidate will have a portfolio of machines they have built that include articulated mechanisms using custom joint design, actuation, and sensing.

Likely relevant industrial experience includes the fields of robotics, aircraft and aerospace, and automotive design.

In addition to exceptional demonstrated hands-on design skills, we are looking for experience in at least several of the following areas:

• Advanced SolidWorks user, or equivalent
• Finite element analysis, design optimization
• High performance hydraulics
• Fluid and electro-mechanical actuators and sensors
• Articulated mechanism design with custom actuation and sensing
• Systems Engineering


Deputy Program Manager

Title: Deputy Program Manager
Location of Job: Waltham, Massachusetts

Boston Dynamics, a leading developer of high mobility robots such as BigDog, PETMAN, and LittleDog as well as industry leading simulation software, DI-Guy, seeks a talented, creative and highly motivated Deputy Program Manager.

The Deputy Program Manager will work with the Program Manager at Boston Dynamics to provide expert management and systems engineering support to our larger and more complex R&D activities including robot and simulation development.

The DPM will have a view from the top, participating in high level planning and management activities in order to help optimize the engineering execution of teams of 10-20 engineers.

To be successful you will need excellent engineering and organizational skills to help prioritize, track, and execute complex, interdisciplinary programs working with teams of talented engineers.
You will need to be a superb communicator, work well with others, have a healthy appetite for hard work and a good sense of humor.

We require a BA/BS degree in a related technical field plus 2-5 years of relevant, progressive engineering management experience.
Strong interpersonal, speaking and writing skills are required.

We are looking for experience in at least several of the following areas:

• Project Management (budget, schedule, milestones, deliverables and risk) for DoD-sponsored projects with budgets in the $1M-$10M range
• Task Planning and prioritization for multi-disciplinary teams (ME, EE & SW) of 2-10 Engineers
• Preparation of Project Budgets, Statements of Work, Work Breakdown Structures, and Schedules as well as Proposal Preparation, expert in MSProject and Excel
• Project tracking using Earned Value Management
• Subcontractor management
• Preparation of Customer monthly/final reports and major design review presentations


3D Graphics Senior Software Engineer

Title: 3D Graphics Senior Software Engineer
Location of Job: Waltham, Massachusetts

DI-Guy, our COTS software for 3D realtime human simulation, has an immediate need for a software engineer with experience in 3D Graphics. Join an exciting team of expert engineers on a dynamic growing product.

We require a Bachelors degree in Computer Science or equivalent.
Must be a US Citizen.

Skills in one or more of the following are preferred:

• C++ Programming
• OpenGL
• OSG
• Shaders
• Artificial Intelligence
• Lua scripting


Benefits

Boston Dynamics offers an outstanding compensation package comprised of competitive salaries, comprehensive health and dental benefits, tuition reimbursement, MBTA discounts, STD and LTD, access to a modern on-site exercise facility, as well as retirement benefits including a 401(k) program.

Join a unique, growing, and profitable company on the cutting edge of computer simulation and robotics.

Our Waltham offices are easily accessible from the Mass turnpike, Route 128 and Route 2.

Boston Dynamics is an equal opportunity employer.


SOURCE: Boston Dynamics

http://www.bostondynamics.com/bd_index.html  

http://www.bostondynamics.com/bd_about.html  

http://www.bostondynamics.com/bd_jobs.html  



Video
BigDog Overview (Updated March 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/BostonDynamics#p/a/u/1/cNZPRsrwumQ  


Video
Petman 4.4 mph (Updated April 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/BostonDynamics#p/a/u/0/ja_UsmXVPVk  


Video
RHex

http://www.youtube.com/BostonDynamics#p/a/u/2/pNi2ytOdbTY  



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