Yesterday Boston Dynamics, the global leader in developing and deploying highly mobile robots capable of tackling the toughest robotics challenges, issued a press release stating that now robot dog Spot has debuted for sales.
Noah Harris
Boston Dynamics has repeatedly demonstrated the usefulness of its four-legged Spot robot. We saw how robot dogs were used to help maintain social distance, clean public places and hospitals, deliver vital medicines during the quarantine caused by COVID-19 disease, as well as for decommission of nuclear sites, factory floors, construction sites, and even for herding sheep and farming.
Healthcare providers need our help.
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) April 23, 2020
Today, we’re open-sourcing our work to make mobile robots part of a COVID-19 response to reduce risk to frontline medical staff. Here’s an overview of how we plan to use mobile robots to combat the virus: https://t.co/7sVHbvlb1B pic.twitter.com/m6dDTN7aN4
Recently, Spot began work at @insideFPL, a @nexteraenergy company, where it can be deployed amidst storms to collect substation data earlier, allowing improved coverage without risk to humans.
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) February 3, 2020
If you missed it live, see Spot's Super Bowl cameo here!https://t.co/u18uPmPXDg pic.twitter.com/z29bMp47aU
Today we're announcing a partnership with @OTTOMotors to coordinate mobile robots in the warehouse. Together we hope to provide a more flexible warehouse automation solution.
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) March 3, 2020
Learn more in our press release: https://t.co/IfE6l4T5cO pic.twitter.com/za9Jo1qv0Z
In all these cases, the robot was provided on a short-term rental basis as part of the Boston Dynamics Early Adopter Program. Under that program, over 150 Spot robots were successfully used by domestic and international businesses and research facilities. But now the situation is changing, and companies in the United States have the opportunity to acquire Spot in their possession. The robot dog is designed for commercial and industrial use, and orders are executed under the Boston Dynamics terms, which require the useful purpose of robots.
"At Boston Dynamics, we have spent decades creating and refining robots with advanced mobility, dexterity and intelligence because we believe agile robots can solve a broad range of real world problems," said Marc Raibert, chairman and founder of Boston Dynamics. "The combination of Spot's sophisticated software and high performance mechanical design enables the robot to augment difficult or dangerous human work. Now you can use Spot to increase human safety in environments and tasks where traditional automation hasn't been successful."
Adam gives steampunk a whole new meaning with his first Spot project, a robot-driven carriage! Watch @donttrythis build his first integration on the platform and use the API to adjust Spot's gait to provide the right forces to tow him around San Francisco: https://t.co/5zP2uGpo3b pic.twitter.com/Yax9Y3HcdJ
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) February 18, 2020
Robot dogs will be available via online sales, and interested parties can contact Boston Dynamics for pricing. Note that the Spot Explorer, designed for developers who want to work with Spot, is priced at $74,500. Additional batteries and modules, such as LIDAR, can cost from $4,620 to $18,450, respectively.
