Have they developed the perfect dog for Generation Z? Well, maybe! This month, famous robotics laboratory Boston Dynamics has released their first product. It’s a dog robot that anyone can buy. Well, anyone with $75,000 laying around!
Spot: A Helpful Dog Robot
In case you don’t know, Boston Dynamics is one of the leaders in robotics. You’ve probably seen the company’s videos of their extremely agile robots online. Now, they have publicly released a robot dog, named Spot, that they first created back in 2015. Incredible, it can walk, jump, and climb over obstacles just like any dog. However, its work possibility are endless! For instance, a Spot robot currently works at a theme park in Singapore, walking around and telling people to keep their distance due to COVID restrictions.
Similarly, a Boston hospital near to Dynamics headquarters has also been working with a Spot robot. There, the robot dog walks around checking patients’ temperatures and asking them general questions. And those are just two examples from the 150 robot testing program. Now, anyone can purchase a Spot dog robot for $75,000. Well, almost anyone…
Robot Dog: Worth The Money?
A Spot comes complete with a remote control and a battery able to last 90 minutes before recharging. While $75,000 might seem like a lot of money, Boston Dynamics says customers are getting a steal. The company explained that robots with similar skillset sell for around $250,000 or more these days!
“The commercial customers for Spot have seen its benefits reducing risk, increasing frequency and quality of data capture, and leveraging companies’ existing talent for more complex tasks to generate value far beyond the cost of the robot,” Michael Perry, VP of business development at the company, stated. “The pricing for Spot balances the tremendous benefits of mobile robots with an accessible entry point for developers and researchers to explore future applications.” Just make sure you follow the rules!
Follow The Rules
While anyone can purchase a Spot robot, Boston Dynamics must sign off on each purchase and there are a few rules. First, the company wants to see the robot dogs in positive environments only. That means Spot cannot be used as a weapon, hold one, push people over, and so on. Next, Spot cannot be used inside small areas, like homes, or around children. But that’s all! If an owner breaks the rules, it voids the warranty. That means all essential repairs and updates go out the window!
Perry explained the company’s rules: they want Spot to help make robots friendly and trustworthy to people. Boston Dynamics hopes that people seeing and interacting with Spot will help lower fears of robots.
“Many had never worked with a mobile robot prior to working with Spot, but were able to use common web app programming to enable their applications,” Perry said.