It doesn't have the raucous roar of a gasoline engine and the hulking 240-pound build of its big brother BigDog. Spot, the latest glimpse inside of Boston Dynamics, is a leaner and quieter quadrupedal robot that has potential that extends beyond the battlefield.
Spot, which weighs just 160 pounds, is fueled by electric power and driven by hydraulic actuators. The robot is fitted with a sensor head, which Boston Dynamics says helps it traverse rough terrain both indoors and outside.
The quadrupedal robot has the similar organic reflexes that BigDog has, which understandably creeped some people out. When kicked and pushed, Spot stumbles briefly and quickly regains its balance -- even on smooth surfaces, the robot recovers without falling.
Spot is apparently faster and more agile than BigDog, as the smaller robot can be seen in Boston Dynamic's latest video racing its gas-powered counterpart up a grassy incline. While it may not move its limbs much faster than BigDog, Spot appears to negotiate rough areas much better than the bigger robot and it positions its limbs for optimal propulsion in each step.
When BigDog was revealed to the world outside Boston Dynamics, the company said it foresaw the use of the robot in military operations. BigDog could be used to bear packs of equipment as it shadows small detachments of soldiers, although something needs to be done about that lawn mower sound its gas engine produces.
Spot's significantly leaner build suggests that it won't be relied on to carry soldier equipment, although the technology inside the robot can, of course, be scaled up to bear more weight. BigDog can carry up to around 340 pounds, but Spot won't be running around blowing a squad's cover.
Boston Dynamics hasn't said what purpose it envisions for Spot, but it isn't hard to imagine the value of the electric-powered robot when seeing it in action. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see Spot in a military operation, doing ground reconnaissance while linked to a drone or even launching an assault, but there are many domestic applications for the robot as well.
Spot could be an integral part to search and rescue missions, heading out in a pack of clones to sweep an area struck by disaster as the robots search for survivors. The robots could also have uses in industrial settings and scientific applications, bravely and brainlessly trotting deep in mine or boldly going where no man has gone before. Check out Spot in action in the video below and let us know in the Comments section how you thing the quadrupedal robot will be used:
