xTerra Robotics launches DHAV-Hy, a quadruped robot with wheels on its feet

xTerra Robotics, a Bengaluru startup that grew out of legged robotics research at IIT Kanpur, has launched DHAV-Hy, a four-legged robot with hub-drive wheels, Convergence reported in September. On flat ground it rolls at about 18 km/h, or 5 metres per second, and when it meets stairs, slopes or rough ground it uses its legs.

The robot weighs about 22 kg including its battery and carries 360-degree 3D LiDAR and stereo depth sensing, Convergence reported. It runs ROS2 with SDKs for Python and C++, and can be driven by an RF joystick, by long-range teleoperation over the web or autonomously. Startuppedia reported that a demonstration showed it keeping its balance when pushed, without relying on cameras for locomotion, and that the related DHAV platform uses 12 quasi-direct-drive actuators.

The company was formally launched in March 2023 by Aditya Pratap Singh Rajawat (CEO), Amritanshu Manu, Avinash Bhashkar, Nimesh Khandelwal and Professor Shakti S Gupta, building on work with Gupta and Professor Mangal Kothari at IIT Kanpur since 2019. Startuppedia reported that its first robot, the SVAN M2 quadruped, was delivered to IIT Palakkad in January 2024. It is aiming DHAV-Hy at security patrols, industrial inspection and construction sites.