Not for sale
Not for sale (research)HydraulicGas engineViral video
Not for saleShipping: N/A.
Overview
The gas-engine hydraulic pack mule whose icy-slip recovery video made legged robots famous in the late 2000s. It carried up to ~150 kg and climbed 35° slopes. Retired in 2013 largely because its two-stroke engine was too loud for combat.
- Type
- Quadruped robot · Research & legacy platforms
- Maker
- Boston Dynamics (US) for DARPA
- Released
- 2005
- Price
- Not for sale
- Status
- Not for sale (research)
- Best for
- Professionals & labs
- Programming
- No programmability
At a glance
Price and shipping
DARPA-funded military research program.
Shipping: N/A. Never sold. The program ended in 2013.
Specifications
| Category | Quadrupeds · Research & legacy platforms |
|---|---|
| Released | 2005 |
| Country | USA |
| Availability | Not for sale (research) |
| Programmability | No programmability |
| Built-in autonomy | Navigates · Goes to places on its own, such as mapped rooms, waypoints or its charging dock |
| LLM support | None · No built-in LLM and no SDK to connect one. |
| Best for | Professionals & labs |
| Vision sensors | Camera, Depth camera |
| Actuators | Hydraulic / pneumatic |
| Audio | No audio |
| Compute type | x86 PC (Intel / AMD) |
| Compute | Ruggedized PC/104: Pentium M (QNX) + Core Duo for vision |
| Weight | ~109 kg (240 lb) |
| Speed | ~1.8 m/s (4 mph) |
| DOF | 16 hydraulic actuators (4 per leg) |
| Sensors | ~50 sensors: IMU, joint position/force, stereo vision, engine telemetry |
| SDK | None |
Common questions
How much does BigDog cost?
Not for sale. DARPA-funded military research program.
Can BigDog be bought today?
No. It was never sold to the public.
Who makes BigDog?
BigDog is made by Boston Dynamics (US) for DARPA. It came out in 2005.
Can BigDog be programmed?
No programmability.
Does BigDog have AI chat or LLM support?
None. No built-in LLM and no SDK to connect one.
Ratings & reviews
Ratings and reviews load on the live site.
Related guides
- Fastest Robot Dogs · the top 20 ranked by speed
- Robot Dog Actuators · how to choose the leg motors
- 8 vs 12 DOF Robot Dogs · two or three motors per leg
- Robot Gaits and Gait Training · how legged robots walk, trot and gallop
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