Spot, the friendly Boston Dynamics robot dog for all of your worksite needs
In the year since Spot was released for sale, Boston Dynamics' customers and partners have developed integrations that let Spot do more in construction and mining applications, from surveying dangerous and cramped areas, to remote inspection and more. Below is an overview of what Spot has accomplished in the past year.
Inspection of hazardous areas
- UKAEA deployed Spot at Chernobyl using a specially developed radiation detection payload for robotic inspection. Experts hope that the robot will be used during the deconstruction work of Chernobyl's Sarcophagus to evaluate the changing radiation and contamination hazards
- RMUS and UAS worked with operators at Kidd Creek Mine to test Spot in the deepest base metal mine in the world. Spot helped protect human workers by creating distance between them and the potential hazards being inspected
- National Grid tested Spot at a substation outside of Boston. Spot inspected a high-voltage facility where humans are unable to go during operation. Due to the costliness of maintenance shutdowns, National Grid hopes Spot's routine inspections can help avoid downtime.
Construction site monitoring
- Architecture firm Foster + Partners used Spot for construction site monitoring and scanning of existing conditions to support renovation projects
- Brasfield & Gorrie used Spot's API for 360-degree video capture of interiors for continuous site monitoring. This combines aerial data capture and ground data capture with Spot in a common data environment using DroneDeploy software.
Remote inspection
- Since the COVID pandemic created an urgent need to support remote offshore operations via robotics and technology, Aker BP sent Spot offshore to monitor operations
- bp sent Spot nearly 200 miles offshore to its Mad Dog rig, with the goal of remotely inspecting hard-to-reach areas to avoid the risk and expense of sending humans into these difficult environments. On the rig, Spot took on the task of routine facility inspections, including reading gauges and listening for noise anomalies in machinery.
