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History BigDog is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the hopes that it will be able to serve as a robotic pack mule to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for conventional vehicles. Instead of wheels or treads, BigDog uses four legs for movement, allowing it to move across surfaces that would defeat wheels. The legs contain a variety of sensors, including joint position and ground contact. BigDog also features a laser gyroscope and a stereo vision system. BigDog was featured in episodes of Web Junk 20 and Hungry Beast, and in articles in New Scientist, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and The Wall Street Journal. On March 18, 2008, Boston Dynamics released video footage of a new generation of BigDog. The footage shows BigDog's ability to walk on icy terrain and recover its balance when kicked from the side.[2] Hardware Big Dog is powered by a two-stroke, one-cylinder, 15-HP go-kart engine operating at over 9,000 RPM. The engine drives a hydrau...

burgess_shale

T. rex was a huge meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago. T. rex lived in a humid, semi-tropical environment, in open forests with nearby rivers and in coastal forested swamps. The seasons were mild. Until recently, Tyrannosaurus rex was the biggest known carnivorous dinosaur; Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus are slightly bigger. ANATOMY Tyrannosaurus rex was a fierce predator that walked on two powerful legs. This meat-eater had a huge head with large, pointed, replaceable teeth and well-developed jaw muscles. It had tiny arms, each with two fingers. Each bird-like foot had three large toes, all equipped with claws (plus a little dewclaw on a tiny, vestigial fourth toe). T. rex had a slim, stiff, pointed tail that provided balance and allowed quick turns while running. T. rex's neck was short and muscular. Its body was solidly built but its bones were hollow. SIZE Tyrannosaurus rex was up to 40 feet (12.4 m...