The BEAR project was funded by by Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) through the US Army to develop a system capable of extracting a wounded soldier from the battlefield without risking additional lives. The BEAR is capable of curling over 500 lbs, and often shown lifting a weighted 200 lb dummy. Its leg modules have tracks that surround them and allow the robot to drive like a tank, but it is also capable of standing up like a human, balancing on the ends of its 'feet' by using a stabilized balancing control loop, similar to a Segway.
The BEAR has been featured on such shows as Backyard to Battlefield (Discovery Channel) and The Colbert Report.
On this project, I:
» Designed, built, and qualified a 6kW portable variable displacement hydraulic power supply, complete with servo-controlled swashplate, onboard filtration, two-stage pressure relief, and bootstrap reservoir system
» Developed and integrated novel hip and knee joints, track system, power system and enclosures, custom linear and rotary actuators, and hydraulic manifolding throughout robot
»Designed hydraulically actuated fingers with integral load cells that could lift 90 lbs per finger, but also be gentle enough to hold an egg without cracking it
