DARPA takes bigger BigDog out for walkies

War horse: Boston Dynamics’ AlphaDog is designed to haul gear for soldiers. And scare you silly.

(Credit:
DARPA)

Remember the original BigDog? That funny robot pack animal? Well, a supersized version has been let off the leash–and it ain’t so funny anymore.

We last saw the brute when Boston Dynamics unveiled the AlphaDog prototype last year. Even in a harness, it looked pretty mean and could haul 400 pounds without even panting.

This latest incarnation, though, makes its predecessor look quite poodle-like. As seen in the video below, DARPA recently took AlphaDog, aka the Legged Squad Support System, or LS3, out for a walk in the woods and probably scared off every living creature for miles around.

AlphaDog goes where wheels don’t.

(Credit:
DARPA)

The quadruped machine has been outfitted with a raft of sensors and a truss-frame head that makes Megatron look beautiful by comparison.

In the outdoor exercise, AlphaDog went up and down slopes, correcting its balance when it slipped. It also used its “eyes” to follow a human around, distinguishing between obstacles such as rocks and trees.

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