Glossary / Robotics
Quadruped robot
A robot that walks on four legs. It can move steadily over rough ground and stairs where wheels cannot go.
In 2008 Boston Dynamics' BigDog became known for carrying loads over snow and rocks and recovering when pushed[1]. It controls its legs finely and quickly shifts where it places its feet when it starts to fall.
In 2019 a robot that learned to walk through reinforcement learning in simulation, then transferred to hardware, moved faster than with hand-designed control and could get up after a fall[2]. Such robots are entering use for inspection and logistics.
Related terms
- Humanoid robotA robot with a human-like body — torso, two arms and two legs. Its advantage is being able to use environments and tools built for people.
- Reinforcement learningLearning better actions by trial and error, guided by a reward given according to the outcome, rather than by being told the right answer.