Video of the week: meet China's answer to Big Dog

Engineers at Chinese robotics startup Unitree Robotics have unveiled a four legged robot that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Big Dog and Spot technologies developed by US robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics.

Named Laikago (after the Soviet space dog Laika) the robot is able to walk on surfaces ranging from stony ground to grassy slopes, and also boasts a neat stability system that enables it recover from being kicked.

Despite the outward resemblance, the Chinese robot is a simpler device than Boston Dynamics’ technology. It is currently remotely operated via a wifi controller and is not capable of autonomous operation. What’s more, unlike Big Dog and Spot, it doesn’t feature any Lidar or video vision systems.

Big Dog
Laikago quadruped robot

The Engineer interviewed Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert back in 2010. 

According to information on its website, Unitree plans to mass-produce the technology as a research platform for scientists and robotics researchers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8YjvHYbZ9w

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