BENGALURU, INDIA — Bengaluru-based xTerra Robotics, an IIT Kanpur-incubated deep-tech startup, has launched DHAV-Hy, a lightweight wheeled-legged quadruped robot designed for security, surveillance, industrial inspection and autonomous field operations.
The robot has been designed, engineered and built in India. DHAV-Hy is the wheeled variant of the company's DHAV industrial quadruped platform, combining wheels for faster movement on open ground with legs for rough terrain, slopes, stairs and other areas where wheels may not be suitable.
According to the company, DHAV-Hy has a maximum speed of 5 meters per second and can carry a 10 kg payload across all terrains. The wheeled variant has been under research and development for the past three months and is currently being piloted with industrial users for inspection applications.
Introducing DHAV-Hy, our lightweight wheeled-legged quadruped platform.
— xTerra Robotics (@xTerraRobotics) September 19, 2026
Built for speed, agility and terrain access across open ground, rough terrain, slopes and stairs.
Built for security, surveillance and inspection.#DHAVHy #xTerraRobotics #FieldRobotics #MadeInIndia pic.twitter.com/j6MORBWXHK
Robot capabilities
Field demonstrations have shown DHAV-Hy performing high-speed runs, navigating rough natural terrain, climbing and descending slopes and stairs, handling hard-terrain transitions and recovering from sudden physical disturbances.
The robot uses xTerra Robotics' in-house compact quasi-direct-drive (QDD) actuators. The DHAV architecture uses 12 actuators, three on each leg, for movement at the hip and knee joints.
For perception and navigation, the platform integrates 360-degree environmental sensing using 3D LiDAR, stereo depth sensors and an RGB camera. Its onboard computing system includes an NVIDIA Jetson AI compute module and a quad-core Cortex-A76 locomotion computer.
The robot uses a swappable lithium-ion battery pack with a smart battery management system. It supports ROS2 and provides Python and C++ APIs for software integration and custom development.
Expanding India’s quadruped robotics
Founded in 2023, xTerra Robotics was established by IIT Kanpur-linked co-founders including Aditya Rajawat, Amritanshu Manu, Avinash Bhashkar, Nimesh Khandelwal and Professor Shakti S. Gupta.
The company previously introduced the SVAN M2 quadruped and has delivered units for research and industrial use. Its DHAV platform is aimed at security, surveillance, construction and industrial inspection.
With DHAV-Hy, xTerra Robotics is expanding the DHAV platform with a hybrid mobility system intended to combine the speed of wheels with the terrain-handling capability of legs. Pre-sales conversations are open for both DHAV and DHAV-Hy.
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