Boston Dynamics Spot
| Manufacturer | Boston Dynamics |
|---|---|
| Announced | 2016 (shown as SpotMini); commercial sales from June 2020 |
| Status | shipping |
| Price | No current list price published; US$74,500 for the Spot Explorer kit at the June 2020 online launch |
| Length | 1100 mm (43.3 in) |
| Width | 500 mm (19.7 in) |
| Height (walking, default) | 610 mm (24.0 in) |
| Height range (walking) | 520 mm to 700 mm (20.5 to 27.6 in) |
| Height (sitting) | 191 mm (7.5 in) |
| Weight | 33.8 kg (74.5 lb) with battery |
| Degrees of freedom | 12 |
| Top speed | 1.6 m/s |
| Max slope | ±30° |
| Max step height | 300 mm (11.8 in) |
| Payload | 14 kg (30.9 lbs) |
| Payload ports | 2 x DB25, 150 W per port |
| Battery | 564 Wh, 5.2 kg (11.5 lbs), swappable |
| Runtime | 90 mins (about 60 minutes when powering payloads) |
| Standby time | 180 mins |
| Recharge time | 60 mins |
| Cameras | 5 optical cameras and 5 stereo depth pairs, 360° field of view |
| Depth camera range | Approximately 2 meters |
| Terrain sensing range | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Minimum lighting | > 2 Lux |
| Dust and water rating | IP54 |
| Operating temperature | -20°C to 55°C (power on at 0°C or above) |
| Wireless | WiFi 2.4GHz / 5GHz b/g/n |
| Optional arm | 6 degrees of freedom + gripper, 8 kg, reach height 1800 mm (70.9 in) |
| Arm lift capacity | Up to 11 kg (24.3 lbs) |
The machine in motion
Spot is a four-legged robot built by Boston Dynamics. It walks on four legs, each with three joints, giving twelve moving joints in total. The company sells it as a mobile sensing and inspection tool, not as a toy or a pet.
The robot is about 61 centimetres tall when walking and weighs 33.8 kilograms with its battery. It carries up to 14 kilograms of extra equipment on rails along its back. A camera arm, laser scanner, thermal camera or gas sensor can all be bolted on.
What it can actually do
Spot walks at up to 1.6 metres per second. It handles slopes up to 30 degrees and steps up to 300 millimetres high. Five cameras look out from the front, sides and rear, giving a full 360-degree view.
Five stereo camera pairs give depth, so the robot sees obstacles and keeps its distance. A person can drive it from a tablet. It can also repeat a route it was taught, and return to a charging dock by itself.
The battery holds 564 watt-hours and runs for about 90 minutes. Boston Dynamics notes that runtime drops to roughly 60 minutes when the robot powers payloads. A swap takes seconds, and a full recharge takes about an hour.
Spot is rated IP54, meaning it resists dust and splashing water. Boston Dynamics lists an operating range of -20 to 55 degrees Celsius. The specification sheet adds that the robot must be switched on at 0 degrees Celsius or warmer.
An optional arm turns Spot into a machine that opens doors and picks things up. The arm has six joints plus a gripper, and weighs 8 kilograms. It reaches 1.8 metres high and lifts up to 11 kilograms.
Where it stands
Spot ships. Boston Dynamics leased it from 2019, then opened sales in the United States in June 2020. Sales in Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom followed in September 2020.
At the 2020 online launch, the Spot Explorer kit cost 74,500 US dollars, a figure widely reported by trade press at the time. Boston Dynamics no longer lists a price. Buyers now ask the sales team for a quote, so what a working configuration costs is not public.
Customers are companies and institutions, not households. Boston Dynamics names factories, power plants, construction sites, mines, research labs and public safety agencies. The company states that more than 1,500 robots are in customer hands.
What is unclear
Price is the biggest gap. Boston Dynamics publishes no list price, no payload prices and no service costs. Sale terms require what the company calls beneficial use, and it does not sell for weapons work.
The two official weight figures differ. The product page and support article both say 33.8 kilograms, while the downloadable specification sheet says 32.7 kilograms. We give the higher figure, since two manufacturer sources agree on it.
The company also does not publish how long the robot lasts before major repair. Service runs through a paid support plan called Spot Care, with prices quoted on request.
Sources
- Spot product page, Boston Dynamics
- Spot specification sheet (PDF, updated 05/22/2024), Boston Dynamics
- Spot Specifications, Boston Dynamics Support Center
- Spot Arm specification sheet (PDF), Boston Dynamics
- Boston Dynamics Launches Commercial Sales of Spot Robot (press release, 16 June 2020)
- Boston Dynamics Expands Global Sales of Spot Robot (press release, 9 September 2020)
- Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot Dog Now Available for $74,500, IEEE Spectrum
What changed
- Entry created.