Spot

A black and yellow quadruped robot with a face that is a yellow square full of sensors. — Spot is ready for real-world applications. Photo: Bob O'Connor

Spot is a compact, nimble four-legged robot that can trot around your office, home, or outdoors. It can map its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs, and open doors. It can also fetch you a drink.

Creator

Boston Dynamics

Year

2016

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Features

Spinning view of Boston Dynamics Spot, a black and yellow quadruped robot with a face that is a yellow square full of sensors. — See Spot spin. Photos: Bob O'Connor

More interactives

Did you know?

Spot goes down stairs by walking backwards.

A yellow quadruped has an articulated black arm on top ending in a black gripper that picks a cup up from a small table. — Spot uses a manipulator arm to grasp objects. Photo: Boston Dynamics

Spot goes on sale. Video: Boston Dynamics

History

Boston Dynamics, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., has amassed a minizoo of robotic beasts over the years, with names like BigDog, SandFlea, and WildCat. And while its agile humanoid Atlas attracts the most attention (and YouTube views), the company has focused its commercial efforts on another robot: Spot. A versatile quadruped, Spot can navigate almost any kind of terrain while sensing its environment. The current version is fully electric, but an early model was electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. In 2019, Boston Dynamics made Spot available for lease, and announced plans to manufacture a thousand units per year. The company's goal is to offer Spot, or even packs of them, to inspect industrial sites, carry out hazardous missions, and make deliveries. In 2020, the robot went on sale with a price tag of $74,500. Boston Dynamics, once owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet, and later acquired by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, now belongs to South Korean automaker Hyundai.

Specs

Overview: Mobile manipulation. Capable of handling up to 14 kg payloads. 3D vision system with SLAM and obstacle avoidance. Omni-directional walking and multiple walking and trotting gaits. Can climb and descend stairs. Bioinspired dynamic control. Balances and adjusts to physical disturbances. Remote controlled by a human operator while also being able to navigate and perform some tasks autonomously. Ingress protection IP54. Operating environment -20C to 45C.
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2016
Website: bostondynamics.com/spot
Height: 84 cm
Weight: 25 kg (30 kg with arm)
Speed: 5.76 km/h
Sensors: Perception sensors including stereo cameras, IMU, and position/force sensors in limbs.
Actuators: All-electric actuation
Compute: Custom control and computing system. Additional compute module can be mounted on top.
Software: GRPC-based API and Python client library. Spot Software Development Kit (SDK).
Power: 90 minutes of battery operation