Compare

Boston Dynamics

LittleDog

A quadruped robot from the United States, first released 2006.

Sources retrieved: 6 September 2026 (A)

Status
Discontinued
Applications
Research and development
Indicative price
Not stated
Intended use, per the manufacturer
LittleDog was designed to explore the fundamental relationships among motor learning, dynamic control, perception of the environment, and rough terrain locomotion.

50100150200 cm204060 in14.35.63
Boston Dynamics LittleDog, small black quadruped robot with a domed body and four jointed legs, seen from the front, Boston Dynamics photo
  1. Person
    175 cm68.9 in
  2. 34 cm13.4 inHeight
    14.3 cm5.63 in

Manufacturer's own photo.

Drawn at one scale next to a 175 cm person, from the figures the maker states: height 14.3 cm and length 34 cm.Drawn at one scale next to a 68.9 in person, from the figures the maker states, converted to inches: height 5.63 in and length 13.4 in.

Specifications

13/33 specifications disclosed 20 not stated

Not statedThe manufacturer states nothing about this field.NoStated: the robot does not have this.A marker with an asterisk (*) also carries a caveat.

Select a source marker for source details and notes.

Physical5/14 disclosed

Weight3kg6.61lbOur conversion from 3 kg. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.
Length34cm13.4inOur conversion from 340 mm. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.
Width18cm7.09inOur conversion from 180 mm. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.
Height14.3cm5.63inOur conversion from 143 mm. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.
Degrees of freedom12DoF
Payload, walkingNot stated
Payload, standingNot stated
Max speedNot stated
Max slopeNot stated
Max obstacle heightNot stated
Max stair height, continuousNot stated
IP ratingNot stated
Operating temperature, lowNot stated
Operating temperature, highNot stated

Power2/5 disclosed

Battery31.1Wh
Runtimeapproximately 30minNote: load condition not stated
Hot-swap batteryNot stated
Charge timeNot stated
Docking stationNot stated

Sensing and autonomy5/6 disclosed

LiDARNot stated
CamerasNo
Onboard computex86 architecture, 266 MHz CPU with 128 MB RAM; onboard 802.11b wireless Ethernet
ROS 2No
SDK languagesC++
Autonomy featuresNo built-in autonomous behavior; a bare research platform for user-supplied control software (motor learning, dynamic control, rough-terrain locomotion algorithms) run on an external host computer.

Payload and expansion1/3 disclosed

Mounting interfaceNot stated
Power outNot stated
Data portsRS232 USB Analog/Digital I/O VGA Keyboard Ethernet

Commercial0/1 disclosed

Indicative priceNot stated

Compliance & certifications0/4 disclosed

CENot stated
FCCNot stated
ULNot stated
CCCNot stated

Against the field

Each strip holds every robot of this type in the guide that states the figure, one bar per group of values. Further right means a larger figure, not a better robot.

Height

14.3cm5.63inOur conversion from 143 mm. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.

89 quadrupeds state a height

LittleDog

86 state a higher figure, 0 a lower one.

Weight

3kg6.61lbOur conversion from 3 kg. The manufacturer does not state an imperial figure itself, so the conversion has no source of its own.

124 quadrupeds state a weight

LittleDog

116 state a higher figure, 3 a lower one. Log scale: each step along the axis multiplies the value.

Degrees of freedom

12DoF

76 quadrupeds state degrees of freedom

LittleDog

15 state a higher figure, 4 a lower one. 56 more state exactly the same figure.

Runtime

approximately 30minNote: load condition not stated

104 quadrupeds state a runtime

LittleDog

96 state a higher figure, 0 a lower one.

Notes

A small four-legged robot built for DARPA's Learning Locomotion program, used by university teams including Stanford, CMU, USC and MIT from about 2006 to 2010.

About a dozen identical units, each with a common software API and a motion-capture rig, were distributed to research teams so results could be compared directly.

Sources

One line per source, not per figure: a source has one retrieval date.

  1. Acs.cmu.edu/~cga/bdi/LittleDog_User_Guide_V1.0.0.pdfSecondary. Retrieved 6 September 2026

Report an error or send an updated datasheet

More robots

Same manufacturer

All robots from Boston Dynamics

Same type and weight class