SiliconSynapse Lab Husky Carbon specs

SiliconSynapse Lab (Alireza Ramezani), Northeastern University (USA) Husky Carbon (1)

Not for saleUniversity research prototype, first described in a 2021 ICRA paper, with a redesigned v.2 shown in 2025.

Not for sale (research)Not programmableWalks + fliesQuadrupedThruster-assisted

Not for saleShipping: Not for sale. A research prototype that was never sold.

Remote control: Not possible. Research prototype.

Generative design paper (ICRA 2021, arXiv) ↗Progress letter (arXiv, 2022) ↗Narrow-path walking paper (arXiv, 2024) ↗Husky Carbon v.2 paper (arXiv, 2025) ↗SiliconSynapse Lab research page ↗

Overview

Husky Carbon is a four-legged robot built to both walk and fly, inspired by birds that use their wings while running up slopes. The first version carried four ducted-fan thrusters on its back and trotted in place while held by support ropes, with the thrusters meant to steady its body. Steep-slope and narrow-path walking were shown in simulation. Version 2 (2025) folds its legs outward so propellers at the knees work like a quadcopter, and it trotted and hovered untethered. It comes from the same lab as Aerobat.

Specifications

Category	Drones · Fly + drive or walk
Released	2021
Country	USA
Availability	Not for sale (research)
Programmability	No programmability
Built-in autonomy	None / scripted · Moves only when controlled, or plays preset motions
LLM support	None · No built-in LLM and no SDK to connect one.
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	Camera
Actuators	Mixed
Audio	No audio
Compute type	NVIDIA Jetson, Laptop / PC as the brain
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	Version 1 is about 0.3 m wide and 4.3 kg before thrusters, with height given as 0.8 m (2021 paper) and 0.4 m (2022 paper)
Drive	Four legs with three joints each (12 actuators) plus four thrusters. Version 1 uses custom brushless actuators with harmonic drives and four Schubeler electric ducted fans (about 8 kgf total). Version 2 uses Dynamixel servos and four SunnySky X4112S motors with 14-inch propellers at the knees (13.4 kg max thrust), and folds its legs into rotor arms to fly.
Compute	Version 1 runs on a Speedgoat IO581 real-time target machine. Version 2 carries a Jetson Orin Nano and a Cube Orange+ flight controller.
Vision	Intel RealSense T265 tracking camera (version 1)
Lidar	None
Sensors	VectorNav VN-100 IMU, Hall-effect encoders on each joint motor, RealSense T265 (version 1)
Runtime	Not published. Version 1 ran tethered to an external power supply. Version 2 hovered for about 20 seconds on two 6S LiPo batteries in its test.
Speed	Not published
SDK	None public