The XOS 2 is nearly usable for the latter job, but even at 50 percent more efficient than the original (by the company's last count) it's still a prototype that requires a tethered high-pressure hydraulic engine to function.
The assertion is that hydraulic fracturing fluids, which are injected at high speed and highpressure to create cracks in the shale rock that traps natural gas, will seep into underground water aquifers.
By designing custom hydraulic servos and managing the robot's gait so that it only uses highpressure when it truly needs to (like when it's beginning to take a step), the company hopes to bring that number to 20 percent.