101 Quadrupeds

Laikago. © Unitree Robotics.

We all know and love Boston Dynamics’ BigDog, AlphaDog, Spot, SpotMini, and other robots it has introduced over the years. So does Xing Wang, a Chinese roboticist and founder of his own robotics company, called Unitree Robotics. Unitree’s first robot is – unsurprisingly – a dog, called Laikago after Laika, the Soviet cosmodog. Wang’s goal is to make legged robots as common and affordable as smartphones and drones. Laikago can’t do anything on its own for the moment, but Wang hopes that with some improvements, it could help humans with tasks such as delivering packages, carrying objects or keeping people company. One thing Laikago can do right now is to remain stable on uneven surfaces, including when kicked.

⇨ IEEE Spectrum, “This Robotics Startup Wants to Be the Boston Dynamics of China.”