BigDog: Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Speaker: Marc Raibert , Boston Dynamics
Date: November 20 2008
Time: 4:15PM to 5:45PM
Location: 32-123
Host: Tomas Lozano-Perez, CSAIL
Contact: Colleen Russell, 3-0145, crussell@csail.mit.edu
Relevant URL: Abstract:
Less than half the Earth's landmass is accessible to wheeled and tracked vehicles, but people and animals use their legs to go almost anywhere on Earth. It should be possible to build robots with legs that go where people and animals go. Such robots would travel in outdoor terrain that is too steep, rocky, wet, muddy, and snowy for conventional vehicles. They would be used for military missions, but also for agriculture, emergency rescue, mining and other applications. Recent technical progress is putting useful legged robots within reach, perhaps just over the next rise.
Biography:
Marc Raibert has been the president of Boston Dynamics since its founding in 1992. The company develops advanced dynamic robots and human simulation products for virtual prototyping and training. Before Boston Dynamics, Raibert was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT from 1986-1995. Raibert's laboratory at MIT, the Leg Laboratory, was well known for its work on legged robots that were biologically inspired and moved dynamically. Several of Boston Dynamics products are outgrowths of research done by Raibert's group at MIT. Before joining MIT, Raibert was Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie-Mellon University from 1980 - 1986. Before that, he was a Member of Technical Staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1977 - 1980. Raibert is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, has served on several editorial boards and has published widely.
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