Deutsche Bahn: Spot the robot dog didn't catch a sprayer
Boston Dynamic's robot dog Spot spent a month keeping an eye on train carriages. However, he did not catch any graffiti sprayers.
Spot is on patrol for the railroad.
(Image: Deutsche Bahn)
Deutsche Bahn and the Munich S-Bahn have been using the robot dog Spot for a month to deter graffiti sprayers. In Munich, Spot did not catch any sprayers who wanted to immortalize themselves on a train carriage, reports BR24. It could therefore be that Spot deterred sprayers. However, the report also does not clarify whether there was any new graffiti during the test period.
The report states that the test with the Boston Dynamics robot in the Munich S-Bahn area has now been completed. It was extended by a few days, during which the rail company ran through numerous test scenarios with Spot under real-life conditions.
Autonomy in need of improvement
Spot patrolled autonomously at night between parked DB trains and the Munich S-Bahn. There is room for improvement here, and even before the detailed evaluation, it is already clear that Deutsche Bahn does not want Spot to monitor trains permanently at this stage. However, Deutsche Bahn wants to test Spot again in order to gain further insights. It is not yet known where the new trial will take place.
Spot's artificial intelligence (AI) has been trained with around 1200 images so that the robot dog can recognize sprayers. If a graffiti sprayer enters the field of vision of its three cameras, it should send an alarm to DB Sicherheit employees. They can then verify via livestream whether Spot is right and react accordingly.
Every year, around 13,000 square meters are illegally sprayed in the Munich S-Bahn area. Removal cost around one million euros in 2023 alone. According to the report, Spot's deployment cost the railroad company a five-digit euro amount in the "medium range".
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