By: Amaya

The next time I'm wandering through a snowy wilderness, I sure hope I don't come upon a creature like Boston Dynamics BigDog.  The company just released a new video showing the BigDog on ice and snow, and also demoing its walking gait (http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog). 
The BigDog's evolution since the last time we saw it is nothing short of mindblowing, and a bit eerie.  It climbs through rubble, snow, and jumps over obstacles like a wild goat. But by far, the most jaw-dropping scene occurs when the BigDog recovers from a kick while on ice.  Seeing its limbs flail, falter, and recover (all while bearing a 340 lb. payload) makes it hard to believe there's not a real dog underneath the armor.

Still, the human factors person has to point out a few features of concern.  First of all, BigDog is LOUD, and in a bad way.  It sounds like a swarm of angry bees, or a chain-saw wielding madman!  Okay, okay, it takes a lot of power to schlep around 340 pounds, and BigDog runs off a gasoline engine.  Another glaring design concern is that even though BigDog looks and moves like an animal, it has NO HEAD.  This is a disturbing omission.  Think how many "feel good" points could be earned by at least sticking a stuffed animal head up there.  (Okay that still looks weird.)

Perhaps someday there might be an engineering need for a dog head if a more sophisticated vision system is installed that could seek out complex targets, video record, or do more elaborate computation.  Currently, BigDog’s control system manages the dynamics of balance, steering, and the regulation of energetics as conditions vary. Sensors for locomotion include joint position, joint force, ground contact, ground load, a laser gyroscope, and a stereo vision system.

In the meantime, Boston Dynamics will keep working on their BigDog quadruped.  Who knows, it may grow to be the future AT-AT of the Pentagon.  It looks to me like that $10 million funding they got from Darpa has been put to good use.  Finally some military spending going to something worthwhile!

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