Boston Dynamics Gives Spot a Leg (or Arm) Up

Boston Dynamics—famous for their dancing robot videos and advanced robotics—released new updates to its line of Spot mobile robots. 

Enterprise customers are already using Spot’s advanced mobility, autonomy, control, and customizability to improve operational efficiency, enhance worker safety, and gather critical data. 

These new updates are set to open even more doors (that pun will hit you hard when you watch the video below) for mobile robotics and automation in industrial settings.

Armed and Ready 

A highly anticipated new release is the Spot Arm, an add-on to the quadrupedal Spot robot. The Spot Arm can manually or semi-autonomously grasp, lift, carry, place, and drag a wide variety of objects. 

From Imgur

It is also capable of manipulating objects with constrained movement and can open and close valves, pull levers, and turn handles and knobs. It can even work in coordination with its body to use movement and leverage to move objects and open push and pull doors.

The Spot Arm comes with more flexible automation capabilities compared to the early Spot commercial models. “If users want to put together a fully autonomous script of arm behaviors, that’s all available to them,” said Zachary Jackowski, chief engineer, Spot, Boston Dynamics. “All of [Spot Arm’s] features are exposed through an API...for arm motion planning and complex inverse kinematics that take into account environmental factors, we’ve exposed the control in hopes that some great things come out of it.”

The addition of the Spot Arm takes Spot’s capabilities from data collection and inspection to a tool for implementing remote assistance. This functionality will greatly reduce risk to humans in hazardous environments by sending in Spot to, for example, connect a dangerous hose in a chemical processing plant or open and shut valves in a refinery.

Spot Enterprise Adds Autonomy

An upgraded version of the base Spot Explorer model, aptly named Spot Enterprise, brings customers additional features to allow Spot to perform longer inspections and data collection missions with little to no human interaction.

Spot Enterprise comes equipped with upgraded hardware for improved safety and behavior, more flexible payload ports, and post-mission data download. 

The upgraded line also features self-charging capabilities and a dock. Spot Enterprise can dock and undock autonomously with a push of a button. While the range is currently limited, Boston Dynamics is working on expanding that to allow for longer operations, both in time and distance. 

Remote Control

While companies have been able to build third-party controls to operate Spot from a distance, Boston Dynamics has now introduced Scout, its web-based software that enables operators to control Spot virtually. 

Operators can control Spot fully or can cede control by pre-programming certain actions. Some actions, like stairs and rough terrain, come built-in and use Boston Dynamics’ research on movement to maintain balance and navigate a path.

With Scout, Spot can be deployed in remote locations like offshore oil fields or underground mines, taking on dangerous missions and improving safety. 

Currently, Scout is integrated with both the Spot Explorer and the Spot Enterprise but not with the Spot Arm.

Imagine the Possibilities

With only 400 Spots out in the field, and an unknown price tag somewhere above $75,000, Boston Dynamics says it’s learning a lot about industry needs from early customers. 

As automation increases and costs (hopefully) decrease, we can imagine endless possibilities for improving safety, reducing risk, and improving operational efficiency across industries. There’s no doubt ‘bot it.