Big Dog Robot
-- posted November 2014 --
This blog is about one of the most advanced robots at the present time, from the aspect of control robustness and stability. It is a four-legged robot called Bid Dog, developed by Boston Dynamics (which by the way was acquired by Google in 2013). The robot was ordered by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the USA), with an aim to assist in military missions as a logistic weight carrier over rough terrains. The robot has an onboard computer for controlling the joint actuators based on perceptual information obtained from a set of various (approximately 50) sensors. It uses hydraulic actuators in its legs, which makes it sound like a 'swarm of angry bees'.
Here is the link to the now-famed 3:24 minutes video presenting the outstanding work by the team at Boston Dynamics, including walking over an icy surface and balance recovery from a kick from the side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNZPRsrwumQ
P.S. Also check out the link below to a video of two guys goofing around and pretending to be an early version of the Big Dog. It is hilarious.