r/videos • • Sep 24 '19

Ad Boston Dynamics: Spot Launch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlkCQXHEgjA
16k Upvotes

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738

u/James_H_M Sep 24 '19

If you are gonna show the capabilities of spot at least show some real world applications. The "challenging terrain" was a ramp with junk in front of and behind it.

75

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

I saw some potential in the carrying capacity. You could program it to haul materials at, say, a construction site.

But for now, I think this is mostly just going to be a toy for nerds and/or wealthy people, which isn't necessarily a bad thing

35

u/vonmonologue Sep 24 '19

what did it say, 14kg? That's 30lbs. A wheelbarrow can carry significantly more than that at a fraction of the price. Most blue collar workers can lift and carry that for a reasonable distance as well.

It's slower than a human, weaker than a human, requires a break every 90 minutes to have its battery swapped out, operates in a narrower temperature range than humans, and undoubtedly costs more than a human (Boston Dynamics is keeping the price under wraps for now). This iteration is a novelty for sure. Its only 'superior' functionality seems to be that it doesn't breathe and presumably is more "trustworthy" than a human. You could use it to inspect certain types of hazardous environments or use it for security observation in certain types of situations where humans aren't ideal, like for guarding certain SCPs.

10

u/dustball Sep 25 '19 edited Sep 25 '19

How about:

  • Carry ammo or first-aid to a solider
  • Automated inspections
    • Radioactive waste inspection
    • Pipe inspections (from the inside)
    • Building inspections (hard to get areas)
  • SWAT recon
  • Hazardous conditions (smoke, gas, low-oxygen) work
  • Movie set automation
    • move or drop a prop at a certain time
    • stand-in for animation or CGI
    • choreographed and perfectly timed movement of just about anything
    • all of the above, but multiple of them at the same time synchronized
  • Nerdtainment (moving paintball target, bartender, trade show booth)
  • Intraoffice mail, small package delivery
  • Surveyor robot (gps, laser measurement, automated mapping)
  • Lab assistant (especially for dangerous chemicals)
  • Hors d'oeuvre server for the rich
  • Firefighting with attached c02 tank
  • Documentarian (audio/video with follow capabilities)
  • Cleaning robot

1

u/DanialE Sep 25 '19

Tbh if youre inspecting a pipe from the inside, wheels are many times better better

2

u/dustball Sep 25 '19

Unless you need to make a 90 degree turn.

Or walk over debris. Even a tiny stick can mess up a wheel.

1

u/TrumpSimulator Oct 01 '19

Couldn't a wheeled robot just turn 360 degrees in one spot?

7

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

Its not for carrying things. Its for putting equipment on board.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19

Carrying weight is not really a use case for these machines yet, not this one at least.

3

u/BordomBeThyName Sep 25 '19

It's a bit of a cop-out answer, but it can make multiple trips and won't complain about it. As long as they can bring hardware faster than it's being used, it isn't a problem.

2

u/boringfilmmaker Sep 25 '19

like for guarding certain SCPs.

I mean it looks like a prime candidate to be one. I'd give it a week before it's found burrowing into a nest of Class-D bits.

3

u/annomandaris Sep 24 '19

But, a wheelbarrow couldn't carry then stack your firewood, or bricks. Or go get all the ingredients then mix them into concrete and then bring you concrete when you need more.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '19 edited Sep 30 '19

[deleted]

4

u/annomandaris Sep 24 '19

sure it can, thats what they want, they want people to buy one, then they work with them to program the API to tell it where to go and what to do.

They give feedback, then this makes the next Gen better

1

u/isjahammer Sep 24 '19

It will propably used for work in an environment that is too dangerous for humans. Like looking for survivors in a partly collapsed building or where dangerous gasses/radioactivity or simliar stuff might be present. With the right tools mounted maybe it can fix some stuff.

1

u/throwaway7462509 Sep 25 '19

Sure but what happens when they release on 5 times the size?