Issue 40 Unmanned Systems Technology October/November 2021 ANYbotics ANYmal D l AI systems focus l Aquatic Drones Phoenix 5 l Space vehicles insight l Sky Eye Rapier X-25 l FlyingBasket FB3 l GCS focus l AUVSI Xponential 2021

23 with ground-based systems. Wheeled UGVs can overcome these limitations, but are constrained largely to flat environments (or very light inclines), and if an accidental collision or capsizing should occur, they must be righted by an operator. All this means there is a considerable niche for autonomous floor-based robots capable of navigating indoor spaces built with human mobility in mind. Swiss robotics company ANYbotics is focusing on this niche with its ANYmal D, a 930 mm-long four-legged ground vehicle capable of end-to-end autonomy in its navigation, mobility and workflows. The 50 kg UGV is battery-powered and equipped with a range of sensors for intelligent perception and surveying. It can tackle stairs at an angle of up to ±45 º , walk at up to 1.3 m/s (4.7 kph), and push itself upright if knocked over. It can carry up to 15 kg of sensors and operate for 90 minutes between automated recharging sessions, carrying out repeatable surveys of facilities and equipment to accumulate consistent bodies of data over time. Origin of the species ANYbotics was founded as a spin-out from ETH Zurich in 2016, although the technology for the ANYmal has been in development since 2009. The research was initiated as an exploratory project by co-founder and adviser at ANYbotics Dr Roland Siegwart, at a time when the Swiss university had robots that could fly, swim, roll and more. Alongside these, robotic walking seemed worth investigating. Later in 2009, the research team unveiled the four-legged ALoF system, ETH Zurich’s first walking robot and the first real ancestor of what is now the ANYmal, making it a contemporary of Boston Dynamics’ LittleDog, both chronologically and technologically. “Based on that early success, the number of people and amount of resources going into the research group for legged robots really grew,” says ANYbotics’ CEO and fellow ANYbotics ANYmal D | Dossier Unmanned Systems Technology | October/November 2021 Best feet forward