Boston Dynamics: Spot robot dog improved for industrial use
Boston Dynamics is making the Spot robot dog increasingly fit for industrial tasks. It now supports more sensors and can react better to obstacles.
Robot dog Spot carrying out inspection tasks in an industrial complex.
(Image: Boston Dynamics)
The Spot robot dog from Boston Dynamics has been given support for new sensor attachments, better automatic object recognition and improved autonomous walking behavior in software version 4.1. There are also improvements in terms of battery life, Wi-Fi and radio range.
The Spot robot dog has been in commercial use for around four years and is used for numerous monitoring and inspection tasks worldwide. Boston Dynamics has now improved the four-legged robot's software once again. According to the company, it is designed to better meet the growing market demand.
Specifically, Spot has been given more capabilities, including the ability to connect additional sensors. These include the Fluke SV600 acoustic camera. Spot can use it to record acoustic vibration data, for example in machine bearings, and thus detect emerging damage at an early stage. Maintenance work can thus be initiated and repairs carried out before the machines break down. This predictive maintenance can prevent time-consuming and costly breakdowns.
Spot also has a Leica BLK ARC laser scanner on board for industrial applications. This allows it to scan its environment and help build a digital twin of a production line via the Digital Twin software. At the same time, the robot can return real-time status data about equipment. Boston Dynamics' Orbit fleet management software allows operators to plan reality capture missions in advance, similar to inspection missions. Boston Dynamics has adapted the Orbit user interface to make it quicker and easier to achieve this goal. Any alarms are now easier to recognize on a site map and can be assigned to solution approaches more quickly.
Better avoid obstacles
Spot's autonomous mobility has been revised in order to make progress even in difficult environmental conditions. It should now be able to move faster on uneven surfaces and avoid obstacles such as trolleys, cables, ladders and the like. This happens over a larger area than before. It can also plan longer detours independently. Spot will also be able to react better to moving objects. For example, it can safely avoid forklift trucks and people while in motion.
Boston Dynamics has also increased Spot's battery life and its Wi-Fi and other radio range. Spot can now also be recharged at various docking stations. The range of the robot dog can thus be extended to larger industrial complexes. A detailed overview of the new features and improvements can be found in the release notes for Spot update 4.1.
(olb)
