LEONARDO (LEO)

Not for saleUniversity research prototype, first shown in 2019 and described in an October 2021 Science Robotics cover paper.

Not for sale (research)Not programmableWalks + fliesBipedalSlacklineSkateboard

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

Remote control: Not possible. Research prototype.

Caltech news (Oct 2021) ↗Science Robotics paper ↗Paper record and supplement (CaltechAUTHORS) ↗Caltech ARCL project page ↗Northeastern News (2019) ↗

Overview

LEONARDO (LEgs ONboARD drOne, or LEO) is a two-legged robot with four drone propellers on its shoulders. The legs carry most of the weight while the propellers, controlled together with the leg joints, keep it balanced, so it can do things that are hard for ordinary walking robots. It walked on a slackline, rode a skateboard, hopped, and flew over obstacles between walking sections. Alireza Ramezani, later of the Northeastern lab behind Husky Carbon, helped build it. It remains a lab research platform.

Specifications

Category	Drones · Fly + drive or walk
Released	2019
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	Rockchip, Arduino / ESP32 / microcontroller
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	About 0.7 to 0.8 m (2.5 ft) tall, 2.58 kg (5.7 lb)
Drive	Two legs with three actuated joints each, plus four propellers on the shoulders tilted inward 25 degrees. Leg joints use MKS HBL599 and Hitec HSB-9381TH servos, propellers use Garila X2508 2200 kV brushless motors.
Compute	NanoPC-T4 embedded computer (six cores, 4 GB RAM) plus an STM32F722 microcontroller
Vision	Intel RealSense T265 tracking camera (visual-inertial odometry)
Lidar	None
Sensors	ICM-20602 IMU, RealSense T265 VIO camera
Runtime	About 100 seconds of flight or 3.5 minutes of walking, limited by the 29 Wh propeller battery
Speed	Walking tested at 0.2 m/s, flight tested at 1 to 3 m/s
SDK	None public