Buddy: A 3D-Printed Quadruped Robot for Disaster Relief
This robot named Buddy participated in the DARPA Robotics Challenge trials in December, 2013. Buddy was engineered by Team Mojavaton, led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory engineer Karl Castleton. The team's extensive use of 3D plastic printing allowed for a lighter robot and for parts that could not be made using traditional metal machining techniques. The DARPA competition encourages the development of robots that can assist humans in natural and man-made disasters. Though Buddy experienced a mechanical malfunction during the trials, his team hopes to compete in the December 2014 finals.