How Boston Dynamic’s Spot Will Make The U.S. A Key Player In Artificial Intelligence
For decades, we have thought of robots facilitating our lives. Spot will play a key role in the U.S. maintaining a dominant position in A.I., and also making our lives easier as a personal assistant.
Technology has already proven to have outstanding influence in the advancement of humanity. It has ignited change since the industrial revolution, and only seems to be picking up more steam as we go. The human species has quickly moved forward from the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel, to handheld personal computers and artificial intelligence. These advancements have made the average human being more knowledgeable and resourceful than any person from 100 years ago. Boston Dynamic is now leading the path to revolutionize the next 100 years.
Earlier this year, I had written a story analyzing How The United States has Been Handing Its Lead in Artificial Intelligence to China. However, Boston Dynamic’s Spot marks the first promising sign of American ingenuity making significant progress in the field.
According to the manufacturer, “Spot is the quadruped robot that climbs stairs and traverses rough terrain with unprecedented ease, yet is small enough to use indoors. Built to be a rugged and customizable platform, Spot has a proven track record of supporting remote operation and autonomous sensing across a variety of industries.” The robot is designed to simulate a dog in its movement, but it is easily the most advanced piece of robotics technology available for the money.
Boston Dynamic has been working on this product since 2016, when they unveiled a 55 pound robot. It was meant to be much lighter and nimble than some of their other projects. The company received praise from technology enthusiasts, but also garnered a large group of skeptics as their YouTube videos made headlines. Their videos would highlight a series of stunts performed by Spot which included opening a door, moving through obstacles, and maintaining its balance as it is being kicked over by a person. Despite all the attention, it was not apparent whether the device would be commercially available. There was also the question of how much effort it would take for the robot to perform these tasks.
Earlier this year, Boston Dynamics began to capture headlines once again. Their canine robot is now available for sale at $75,000. It is classified as an industrial robot; has 3 motors in each shoulder, which enables its nimble mobility; weighs 71 pounds; has a payload capacity of 31 pounds; you can control the robot with an Android powered handheld device; and, it can use a series of functions to move around autonomously.
More impressively, Spot uses artificial intelligence to visualize its surroundings. This means that the user can direct the robot to any direction, while the robot optimizes each movement to decide the best course of action to move towards the destination. Sensors detect obstacles to let it know if there is a rock to climb or a wall to avoid. The movements are so precise that it can bounce around in just two of its four legs. Even better, if the robot takes on a challenge that leads to it falling over, it can recover itself with a series of movements it already knows out of the box. These features and more are highlighted by Unbox Therapy in the video below.
Now that we have a better understanding of just how Spot functions, we can get into the specifics of how it will revolutionize the world. There are dozens of applications for this product, and the list will continue to grow as more developers use it. Here are some of the better applications in its current configuration.
Inspections
As a Manufacturing Engineer with experience in different fields, I can attest that sustaining effective inspections can be a significant challenge for even the most advanced companies. Whether inspections are conducted on widgets in the manufacturing process, or equipment for preventative maintenance, false negatives result in hundreds of thousands of dollars lost by companies each year. A false negative is present when someone wrongly identifies a lack of problems. Because human beings have limited attention spans and discipline, we often see issues overlooked — resulting in costly countermeasures.
Spot’s combination of autonomy and artificial intelligence allow customers to set up their robot for a series of inspections. The only limiting factor would be whether or not the robot can access the area. It is actually one of their advertised applications on the site. They also sell accessories like the Spot CAM + to further enhance its abilities. “The Spot CAM+ payload turns Spot into a powerful inspection tool with purpose-built cameras and turnkey integration. Spot CAM+ features a color ring camera with a 360° field of view, for complete situational awareness while remotely operating the robot. A pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) color camera adds a powerful 30x optical zoom, enabling detailed inspections from a distance. Integrated high-sensitivity microphones and amplified speakers enable remote auditory inspections and two-way communications with operators in the field.”
Using machines to conduct inspections eliminates the human error involved with manual inspections. The autonomy of this robot allows the user to conduct repeat checks to increase reliability of the results. The artificial intelligence in the device can also use machine learning to improve its accuracy over time. Some of these same functions have already been proven by DJI drones, so the likelihood of Spot succeeding in the field is very high.
Personal Assistant
Even back in the 1960's, people have imagined the possibility of having robotic personal assistants. In 1962 The Jetsons portrayed a robot named Rosey that would serve her owners. With Spot, we are closer than ever to making this a reality. Although this specific robot is meant to be used as an industrial piece of equipment, Boston Dynamics has voiced their intent to provide a version of Spot which will be available for personal use.
The robot comes equipped with a set of standardized rails that enable it to have a wide arrange of applications. This has already made it possible for it to open doors, hold flash lights, carry items, and even pull a man on a carriage.
With the increase of online shopping, companies have needed to find creative solutions for quickly delivering products. Spot provides a medium for both merchants and customers to reach a middle ground. By adding a basket to the top of Spot, its owners can send it to businesses within a 40 minute distance to pick up their purchases. Unlike drones, the canine-like robot would not need any additional infrastructure to function. It will walk through sidewalks, grass, gravel, and pretty much whatever else you put in its path. More importantly, it does so with minimal risk to others.
For more immediate applications, users can have Spot carry their tools or supplies from point A to point B in their home. It can carry your grandparents’ laundry or groceries to wherever they need to go. One could even get creative and attach a vacuum to it, which will enable it to clean the carpets for the owner.
Long Term Applications
Some other applications that may require more manipulation of the system are in the horizon. Although they may not be available out of the box, there is good reason to think we are not far from these being a reality.
Combining Spot’s ability to inspect, and the ability to maneuver around obstacles, makes it very capable to serve as a security system. This is especially effective for large properties where it is difficult to cover the entire space with cameras. Farms can use the system to monitor its perimeter and identify if boundaries have been breached. Businesses can monitor high value areas to check for theft or damage. Although it would be scary to think that this could turn into Black Mirror’s Metalhead episode, the benefits for businesses are significant.
Much how work dogs are used for herding sheep and other cattle, Spot could be modified to serve the same purpose. It would provide additional reliability, and can perform other functions when it is not herding. Although the cost for herding alone may not provide a favorable return on investment, the other functions would help make it more favorable.
Final Thoughts
Although there is no guarantee that Spot will be the one to provide the solutions highlighted at scale, it is clear that this project has been the most successful application of robotics combined with artificial intelligence. It has inspired people around the world to start their own companies, and has shown us the possibilities of smart robots are endless.
Boston Dynamics is currently working on other projects that would provide solutions for individuals with smaller budgets. They are also dedicated to more complex products that will offer solutions for military applications. One of the most impressive ones is currently the Atlas project. Their acceptance around the world is apparent as companies have even used these to serve as entertainment during a baseball game in Asia.
Concurrently, their competition focused on catching up and providing their own solutions to the market. Companies like Honda, Samsung, and others have some promising leads. It is not clear that Spot and Boston Dynamics will be a dominant force in smart robots 10 years from now, but it is clear that they have paved the road for development and innovation. Their ability to bring such an advanced piece of technology to market for anyone to purchase is unmatched. Combine this with the ease of use for Spot, and we are indeed seeing a disruption like never before.
