[jarmitage]

Thanks for your reply.

Is there much publicly available information about their software/control design innovations?

Hmm, maybe one might expect they would be hiring more mechatronics engineers to do just that? Or maybe there's still not much point for them because as you mentioned their focus is slightly different currently.

[pj_mukh]

A person with a core Mechatronics focus will probably be a great systems integrator. BD's core workforce are these PhD's in controls (usually from ECE departments). Source: Am a Mechatronics Engineer with a Controls focus.

check out some of the work of BD's CEO (Marc Reibert). This (http://web.unair.ac.id/admin/file/f_7773_bigdog.pdf) is the summary paper on Big Dog, but they cite a bunch of the older Reibert papers on Controls designs for legs.