Honey Badger

Overview

A compact inspection quadruped from MAB Robotics, a Poznań spin-off of Poznan University of Technology best known for its MD-series brushless motor controllers. The Honey Badger is built for places where wheeled and tracked robots struggle, such as heating tunnels, sewer canals and waterlogged ground. Earlier versions inspected Poznań's heat distribution tunnels and water and sewage canals. In 2024 the IP67-rated Honey Badger 4.0 was filmed walking along the bottom of a pool, tethered by fiber-optic cable since Wi-Fi doesn't reach underwater. The current Honey Badger 5.0 is a sturdier 17 kg, IP66 platform with two onboard computers and mounting for almost any sensor.

At 12–17 kg it sits in the size class of DEEP Robotics Lite3, but it is sold for industrial inspection, mining, utilities and public safety rather than as a developer dog. It is far smaller than ANYmal D, which weighs 50 kg, so it fits narrower passages while carrying a lighter sensor load. Research groups also use it, and TU Darmstadt says the platform lets its team deploy new gait controllers easily. It suits utilities and labs that want a small, waterproof legged robot built to order. Buyers who need ready-made autonomous inspection will find ANYmal more mature, and Lite3 is cheaper with a published price.