The Kid Should See This

For Sale: Spot by Boston Dynamics

Watch more with these video collections:

After years of improvements from video to video, agile mobile robots are entering mass production. Boston Dynamics is selling a new Spot robot (formerly SpotMini). Or more specifically: Early adopters can submit an application to lease them. From ieee Spectrum:

Boston Dynamics says it wants to get Spots out to initial customers that β€œeither have a compelling use case or a development team that we believe can do something really interesting with the robot,” says VP of business development Michael Perry. β€œJust because of the scarcity of the robots that we have, we’re going to have to be selective about which partners we start working together with…”

spot by boston dynamics

When we pressed the company for at least an approximate base price, Perry answered: β€œOur general guidance is that the total cost of the early adopter program lease will be less than the price of a carβ€”but how nice a car will depend on the number of Spots leased and how long the customer will be leasing the robot.”

This video profile of Spot from The Verge, above, is comprehensive, explaining how Spot stays upright and how modules like methane detectors or LIDAR rigs can send Spots into buildings to complete jobs semi-automomously.

Host Russell Brandom also addresses the discomfort or “creepiness” humans might feel in the presence of this technology, as well as the company’s specific concerns about safety and how the robots are used or may be used in the future. How would you use a robot like this?

spot controller
spot
Boston Dynamics was owned by Google until they were acquired by Japanese telecom company SoftBank. Below, the company’s Spot launch commercial:


There are so many videos about robots on TKSST.

Watch more from Boston Dynamics, MIT’s backflipping mini cheetah quadruped robot, soccer-playing robots, Anthropomorphism in Robots, Madeline the Robot Tamer, Festo’s robot animals, and the robot workers at Amazon.

Bonus: Robot – Mysteries of vernacular.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Wheeko – A snake robot that could explore Mars

Rion Nakaya

Two Atlas robots show off their parkour skills

Rion Nakaya

The Shoe-Tying Robot

Rion Nakaya

The next generation of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot

Rion Nakaya

The incredible jumping Sand Flea robot by Boston Dynamics

Rion Nakaya

The Courage To Invent: NASA Roboticist Dr. Ayanna Howard Tells Her Story

Rion Nakaya

Testing a Space Rover Under Alaskan Ice

Rion Nakaya

Terradynamic Biolegged Robot For Mars Exploration

Rion Nakaya

Staffed by robots alone – The Henn-na Hotel in Japan

Rion Nakaya

Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.