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Boston Dynamics’ Spot (left) and Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60.
Ghost Robotics has responded to the patent infringement lawsuit recently filed by Boston Dynamics.
Earlier this week, we learned that Boston Dynamics is suing competitor Ghost Robotics for allegedly infringing on seven patents related to the former’s Spot quadruped robot. Filed in Delaware Federal court on November 11, 2022, Boston Dynamics takes issue with both Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60 and Sprint 40 quadrupeds.
Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 and has worked on a variety of legged robots, both two-legged and four-legged versions. Ghost Robotics was founded in 2015 and has focused exclusively on quadrupeds.
According to the complaint, “Boston Dynamics’ early success with the Spot robot did not go unnoticed by competitors in the robotics industry, including Ghost Robotics.”
Here’s what Boston Dynamics told The Robot Report earlier this week via email: “We do not comment on the specifics of pending litigation. Innovation is the lifeblood of Boston Dynamics, and our roboticists have successfully filed approximately 500 patents and patent applications worldwide. We welcome competition in the emerging mobile robotics market, but we expect all companies to respect intellectual property rights, and we will take action when those rights are violated.”
Ghost Robotics just sent the following statement to The Robot Report:
“Founded in 2015, Ghost Robotics has quickly grown to become the number one supplier of legged robots to US and Allied Governments. The flagship Vision 60 robot offers best-in-class endurance, speed, weather protection, and field repairability. It is the only legged robot on the market that is capable of operating in all environmental conditions for sustained, real-world missions to improve efficiency and save lives.
“Evolving from close customer collaboration, coupled with exceptional innovation at Ghost Robotics, these capabilities have led to rapid adoption by US Air Force, Army, and Special Forces as well as Allied Governments including the UK, Australia, Israel, Germany, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea Blue House.
“Ghost Robotics was born out of the PhD research of CTO Avik De and CEO Gavin Kenneally, under the tutelage of the esteemed Prof. Dan Koditschek at The University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Koditschek is a pioneer in the field of legged robots and holds the patent (jointly with his former students, Martin Buehler and Uluc Saranli) for the first battery-powered, dynamic legged robot, RHex (US6481513B2, filed March 14, 2001).
“Ghost Robotics’ success has not gone unnoticed by Boston Dynamics. Rather than compete on a level playing field, the company chose to file an obstructive and baseless lawsuit on November 11th in an attempt to halt the newcomer’s progress. Boston Dynamics is drawing on their considerably larger resources to litigate instead of innovate.
“Ghost Robotics strongly believes that fair competition drives the market and looks forward to a thriving legged robot industry, for the benefit of humanity.”
These are three of the first quadruped robots to ever be available commercially. We will keep an eye on how this plays out in court. Other quadruped makers include ANYbotics (Switzerland) and Unitree Robotics (China).
You story is interesting and like any new comer to the class it’s challenging for the newbie to make friends! Let’s get together and figure a way to challenging ourselves by working together to built a bigger, better, and more efficient 4 legged friend!
Not to be conceeded or condensending or anything, but if all the Robotic Companies out there would get their heads out of their asses and stop being fame searchers, then and only are Robotics going to sprint forward (Yes Pun intended). I have designed a Exo-Skeleton Robot that can physically run at a full out right Sprint of 197 miles per hour. Can see a dime 5 1/2 miles away, through mountains, with clouds filling the sky, and no luminance from the moon, that is made with the strongest material that will ever exist to mankind, with synthetic flesh which will be indistinguishable from actual human flesh, that does the two things everyone says no Robot can do: Feelings & emotions and unable to tell an outright lie, that has complete controlled order of the three robotic laws Asimov set forth when he created the word Robotics,, yet can departicle accelerate in a milli seconds to be able to go through the key hole of a door knob and reconstruct itself in another milli second (Meaning it be on the other side of the door and then be standing right in front of you on your side of the door before you can even blink your eyes a single time), and the list of abilities goes on and on. So, in sum total, stop being greedy little children and actually help human kind in the advancement of Robotic Engineering. Because at this point, not a single Robotic Company in existence today has the ability to handle even one of the many limitless features and potential of Cutting Edge Robotics T2500 Humanoid Robot . All you Robotists out there need to come together with your Robotic Innovations and make the world a more sustainable livable place. A place where Humans and Robots can truly co-exist in a sustainable environment. But, keep inventing Robot Features and you will all someday get it right. Signed Anonymous.
I think some of Boston Dynamics patents are null to begin with as they pertain to common principles that predate their company’s existence.
As an engineer witha robotics background, I could only find in their favor for a small portion of their lawsuit and find it frivolous overall.
The fact that they are owned by a foreign interest should also nullify this suit. The same foreign interest that ignores US patents on a regular basis. My career has caused me to spend several years working with companies in Asia that routinely steal US technology and I have little or no sympathy for them.
A robot dog has 4 legs; by robot mechanical design, it just happen that the new robot looks similar in shape to spot. Bmw X3 look like Volvo xc60. So maybe ghost can add a fake dog head with blinking eyes, would that solve the issue?
That would be hilarious if they mounted a gigantic pitbull looking head on their robot, with these evil red eyes and gigantic chrome teeth. And then they could buy a Boston Dynamics robot and let their robot rip it apart on camera.
Sure, Boston Dynamics has done some interesting robotics, however, it has been run as a research/academic sandbox for 20 years with no attention to fielding robots for mass-use nor mass-production until very recently. They have admitted that their innovations may have no real practical application or wide adoption because of high cost, inefficiency, etc. Imagine the manufacturer of the Bugatti Vyron blocking the manufacture of all cars because they also have 4 wheels?
The reason they are suing them is bc ghost is straping guns to their robots bc Boston said they would never allow such a thing. Ghost wants to sell warmachines to people who make a habit of bombing civilians.