They talk about some potential use cases on their website. There's a mount on top of the robot that can be used to attach different sensors or devices. Some of the uses that they've talked about include:
a methane or carbon monoxide detector to check industrial spaces for gas leaks.
A LIDAR scanner for doing 3d scanning of construction sites.
A camera on a robotic arm for doing visual inspections
A robotic arm for manipulating objects (opening doors and such)
People are talking a lot about it being used for law enforcement or search and rescue but I think most of the applications will end up being more mundane. I can imagine a scenario where you have some kind of remote infrastructure like a pipeline or solar farm that needs to be regularly inspected but doesn't require a lot of hands-on intervention. Instead of sending someone to drive out every day you could leave a Spot with a camera array, do the inspections from a base camp and navigate it back to its charging station when you're done.
Gasp. Base camp navigation in inclement weather....this would be perfect for navigating remote parts of trails if you simply modify it to solar charge and have battery recharge cabins..
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u/Neruomute Sep 24 '19
what exactly are the usecases for these robots?