Bangalore-based Strider Robotics has demonstrated the towing capability of its M3 autonomous quadruped robot by pulling a full-sized Honda Amaze.

The Honda Amaze’s engine was completely switched off during the demonstration. Nobody was seated in the driver’s seat. Two people remained inside the car while the robot pulled it. One passenger held the handbrake down as a safety precaution throughout the pull.

The demonstration showcased the traction, balance and controlled force delivery of Strider Robotics’ four-legged platform under a demanding real-world load. The M3 is an indigenous autonomous quadruped developed for industrial inspection, material handling, infrastructure monitoring and operations in difficult terrain.

Strider Robotics says the M3 has reached Technology Readiness Level-6. TRL-6 indicates that a prototype has been demonstrated in a relevant operating environment, rather than solely in laboratory conditions. This represents an important transition from foundational research and prototype engineering towards commercial validation and deployment.

The company’s wider demonstration campaign tested stable sit-to-stand recovery, controlled locomotion and movement while carrying heavy loads.

Its quadruped platform has demonstrated stability with payloads ranging from 20 kg to 40 kg. The 40 kg configuration places the platform among the higher-payload quadruped robots demonstrated in India.

The M3 prototype itself carries a 20 kg payload and has been designed and manufactured in-house.

More than 80% of its component cost is sourced from Indian content.

This indigenous content level is intended to strengthen domestic robotics design, manufacturing capability and supply-chain resilience. The robot is designed to climb stairs, traverse uneven ground and move through spaces where wheeled systems may lose mobility or be unable to operate.

Such mobility can be valuable in industrial plants, oil and gas facilities, mines, utility sites, warehouses and large infrastructure assets. In these environments, the robot can potentially carry cameras, thermal imagers, gas sensors, LiDAR units, communications equipment and other inspection payloads.

The platform is being developed alongside an AI-powered software stack for autonomous navigation, mission planning, industrial inspection, asset monitoring and analytics. The software is hardware-agnostic, meaning it can also be integrated with compatible third-party quadruped robots rather than being restricted only to Strider Robotics’ own hardware.

This approach could allow industrial customers to use the company’s inspection and autonomy software with existing robotic fleets. Strider Robotics is moving from prototype development into commercial field deployment. It has begun pilots with a major oil and gas company and an automotive manufacturer.

These pilots are expected to provide operating data from live industrial environments, enabling the company to refine navigation, inspection workflows, payload integration and system reliability. The company’s development work builds on robotics research undertaken by its founders since 2015.

Its technological roots include work at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Strider Robotics was also incubated at ARTPARK, the AI and robotics innovation hub based at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The M3’s intended application areas include energy, mining, utilities, infrastructure, industrial safety, public safety and defence. For hazardous sites, a quadruped robot could reduce the need to send personnel into areas with extreme heat, toxic gases, unstable surfaces, confined access or difficult terrain.

The Honda Amaze pull is therefore more than a display exercise.

It demonstrates that the robot’s legged architecture, actuators, control software and structural design can generate and manage substantial force while remaining stable. Commercial usefulness will ultimately depend on performance factors beyond raw payload, including battery endurance, mission reliability, autonomous perception, weather resistance, communications range, maintenance requirements and safety certification.

Strider Robotics’ progression from research-led development to industrial pilots signals a growing effort to build capable Indian legged-robotics systems for practical inspection and material-handling tasks.

Agencies