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46 Modern Robotics

In designing the robot, Raibert noted to David Hambling of the
British newspaper the Guardian that “There are tradeoffs with
speed, the roughness of the terrain, and the payload.” To be use-
ful for its military application, the robot must be able to travel fast
enough to keep up with the pace of marching soldiers. At the same
time, it must be able to carry enough supplies to be worthwhile. So
far the prototype BigDog has been able to climb a steep 30-degree
slope while carrying a load of more than 110 pounds (50 kg.) As
development continues, there are likely to be faster robots as well as
specialized versions for scouting and rescue work.
An alternative way to help people carry big loads is to build robot-
ic extensions to their own legs. In Robert Heinlein’s novel Starship
Troopers, soldiers of the future have powered suits that let them leap
hundreds of yards and carry wounded comrades easily to safety.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced a
project for developing powered “exoskeletons” that would enable
soldiers to carry hundreds of pounds.
Finally, Boston Dynamics’ growing robot menagerie now includes
RHex, a remote-controlled robot that can climb or clamber over any
terrain and even swim and dive in swampy environments. The com-
pany has an even more remarkable climbing robot, the six-legged
RiSE, which can climb straight up a wall, fence, or tree. These
robots feature a variety of adaptations for dealing with different
types of surfaces.

A Dynamic Future

The best testament to Marc Raibert’s more than 25 years of research
into legged and other mobile robots is seen in the robots and anima-
tion products from Boston Dynamics, as well as in the industry as a
whole. Thanks to Raibert and other researchers (such as the devel-
opers of Honda’s Asimo robot), walking robots are making their
sure-footed way into applications ranging from planetary explora-
tion to entertainment.
Raibert has been a featured speaker at many robotics confer-
ences, including the 25th anniversary conference on “Robots and
Thought” sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University in 2004.