ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab / Robotic Systems Lab · robot dog
StarlETH
A compliant research quadruped with springs in series with its motors so it could hop, jump and climb while absorbing impacts.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
Pioneered spring-loaded series-elastic leg joints that became the basis of ANYmal's actuators.
Real-world use
None (research)
Maker
ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab / Robotic Systems LabUniversity lab · Zurich, SwitzerlandPublic attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current machines.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Walks on legs
- How it runs
- Assisted. Researchers steered it while its controllers handled balance, hopping and footstep placement; some tests used onboard perception.
- Actuators & motors
- Highly compliant series elastic actuators in all 12 joints (3 per leg: hip abduction/adduction, hip flexion/extension, knee); springs decouple motor and gearbox and allow precise torque control.
- Sensors & vision
- IMU plus accurate joint encoders for state estimation; no external perception needed.
- Other details
- About 23 kg, body about 0.5 m long; roughly the size of a medium dog. In use 2011-2015; forerunner of ANYmal.
From the maker
StarlETH is the only machine from ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab in the atlas.
Watch StarlETH
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not published
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- Research robot
- Sold or delivered
- not sold
- Where it is sold or used
- ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab / Robotic Systems Lab, Switzerland
- Customers and pilots
- None (research)
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useStarlETHETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab |  HyQIstituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)Same job: research · Both walk · Both past robots |  WildCatBoston DynamicsSame job: research · Both walk · Both past robots |  MIT Cheetah 2MIT Biomimetic Robotics LabSame job: research · Both walk · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2012 | 2011 | 2013-10-03 | 2014-09-15 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Height | — | 100 cm | — | — |
| Weight | — | 80 kg | — | — |
| Joints | — | 12 | — | — |
| Speed | — | 7.2 km/h | 25.7 km/h | — |
| Payload | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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