Go here to watch video footage of an amazing robot called BigDog. It’s a 4 legged beast that reminds me a little of a horse because of the lifelike way that it moves. BigDog is amazingly capable, but what makes the video interesting is how lifelike the thing is.

It runs on a little petrol engine (very noisy from the looks of things) and is able to get over some serious terrain while carrying quite a load. The video shows BigDog:

• Walking and slipping on ice. When it falls it manages to quickly get back up.
• Walking up a steep slope. Later the slope is covered in snow
• Climbing ‘carefully’ over rubble and rocks
• Getting kicked hard by a technician. BigDog manages to avoid falling – quite impressive
• They even show it galloping along and jumping over an obstacle

BigDog about to get kicked – no problem for this lifelike robot

If you’ve got the bandwidth I highly recommend taking a look. If you get bored skip into the video – you won’t be sorry.