Robot dog Spot gets more autonomy and expanded functions with new upgrade

Boston Dynamics has improved its robot dog Spot by improving its ability to detect and avoid obstacles during a mission.

With the new “Stair mode prohibited” option, the robot can now be prohibited from climbing or descending stairs.

With the release of the latest operating system, several new features have been added to the four-legged robot.

The company says users can make reachability and posture selection queries to reach locations using their arm or by pointing a body-mounted sensor.

Multiple docks in Spot’s Autowalk

Boston Dynamics has partnered with Leica to offer an integrated laser scanning solution with Spot. With an equipped Leica BLK ARC, Spot can now conduct autonomous laser scanning missions and create 3D point clouds. Laser scanning missions can now also be created in orbit.

Spot’s Autowalk missions can now include multiple docking stations. This allows Spot to start and end the mission at any included docking station, and to recharge at any included docking station if the battery becomes low during the mission. In larger locations, multiple docking stations can be placed to extend Spot’s operational range.

Experimental function – long-term planner

The Long Range Planner is an experimental feature that allows Spot to navigate around large obstacles that were not present during Autowalk mission recording. When enabled, this feature allows Spot to deviate up to 6 meters to either side of its recorded mission route if its path is blocked. This is compared to 1.5 meters with the standard Path Planner and 0.25 meters when Strict Path Following is enabled.

The Long Range Planner is available as a mission parameter for both the Spot app and Orbit.

Requests can specify pose or gaze targets for a wrist- or body-mounted tool, with a variety of options for body, arm, and pose configuration. The service responds with a complete robot configuration (and frame snapshot including body, feet, and tool) that matches the request’s specifications, or with an indication that no solution was found.

Fully integrated sensor

New, fully integrated sensor options expand Spot’s capabilities. With a Fluke SV600 mounted on Spot, operators can collect acoustic vibration data. By automating such predictive maintenance, the mobile robot can help plants avoid unplanned downtime and reduce costly inefficiencies, according to The Robot Report.

This service is only available if an arm is attached to the robot, Boston Dynamics said.

With the new upgrades, the loss detector, which is responsible for determining when the robot is lost, is now also configurable.

This can be useful if the robot regularly gets lost in a particular location where, for example, its environment changes regularly. The accuracy of the lost detector can be configured using the LostDetectorStrictness enumeration type. If there are specific, problematic regions at a particular waypoint, the RegionWithFrame message can be used to configure how scan matching or other parameters work, according to Boston Dynamics.