Move over, BigDog — introducing AlphaDog

September 30, 2011
LS3 (Legged Squad Support Systems)

LS3 (credit: Boston Dynamics)

AlphaDog is the new robot in town from Boston Dynamics. Think Big Dog on steroids.

AlphaDog (official name: LS3 (Legged Squad Support System) is designed to assist soldiers in carrying heavy loads (up to 400 lbs of gear) over rough terrain, IEEE Spectrum blogger Erico Guizzo reports.

LS3

The LS3 Legged Squad Support System is designed to go anywhere soldiers and marines go on foot. It can carry up to 400 lbs of gear and enough fuel for missions covering 20 miles and lasting 24 hours. (Credit: Boston Dynamics)

AlphaDog is getting close to something that can be used in the field, using GPS navigation and computer vision to follow soldiers while carrying their gear over any kind of terrain, IEEE Spectrum blogger Evan Ackerman notes. DARPA and the U.S. Marines will begin to put the robot through its paces next year.