The editors of The Robot Report were among the first civilians to tele-operate Boston Dynamics’ Spot, controlling the quadruped robot with Formant’s software across the U.S.
Spot robots helping Ford survey Michigan plant
Two Spot robots from RBR50 company Boston Dynamics will soon help Ford survey its Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. Starting in August, the Spot robots, which Ford nicknamed Fluffy and Spot, will scan the plant floor and assist engineers in updating the original CAD model of the plant, which is used when Ford…
ANYmal C from ANYbotics is a robot with four legs and three brains
ANYbotics’ ANYmal C is a multi-module machine designed to handle varied terrain. The company’s executives explain the computing architecture enabling the quadruped robot’s motion and missions.
Spot’s commercial availability a milestone for quadrupeds
Nine months after the limited release of its Spot, Boston Dynamics today made the quadruped robot commercially available in the U.S. for $74,500.
UC San Diego developing flexible feet to help robots walk faster
UC San Diego is developing flexible feet that allow robots to walk faster and grip better because of a mechanism called granular jamming.
HAMR-JR next-gen cockroach-inspired robot is small but mighty
About the size of a penny, HAMR-JR can perform almost all of the feats of its larger-scale predecessor, making it one of the most dexterous microrobots.
Podcast: Agility Robotics’ Jonathan Hurst on developing legged robots
In this episode of The Robot Report Podcast, we talk to Jonathan Hurst, Co-Founder and CTO of Agility Robotics, which is developing legged robots. We discuss how passive dynamics has steered the direction of Agility’s robots, the role of simulation and reinforcement learning, the fourth version of Digit currently being developed, comparisons to Boston Dynamics, and much more.
Rocos to add remote management to Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot
Boston Dynamics has built partnerships to add capabilities to its Spot quadruped robot. The Rocos cloud-based management platform allows for greater autonomy as well as remote control.
Boston Dynamics’ Spot 2.0 features improved autonomy and mobility
Boston Dynamics has updated the software for its Spot quadruped robot, now Spot 2.0, adding capabilities for different environmental challenges such as stairs.
Dr. Spot the robot dog now seeing COVID-19 patients
Simplicity doesn’t typically come to mind when thinking about Boston Dynamics and how it engineers its robots. But the newest application for its Spot quadruped could be the simplest, yet most valuable use yet. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, one of the world’s leading hospital’s, has been using Spot for the last week as…
Watch Spot robot pull Adam Savage in rickshaw
Rickshaws are wheeled passenger carts that were invented in Japan in the late 1800s. Initially, the rickshaws were pulled by a human. But over time cycle rickshaws (pedicabs), auto rickshaws, and electric rickshaws were invented. It appears we’re on the verge of yet another new type of rickshaw: robo-rickshaws. Former MythBusters host Adam Savage has…
Boston Dynamics open-sources Spot SDK; Raibert steps down as CEO
If you are a roboticist, chances are you have always wanted to tinker with any of Boston Dynamics’ robots. The Softbank-owned company trying to make those dreams come true by making its Spot SDK publicly available on GitHub. This will allow developers to build custom applications that enable Spot to do useful tasks across a…
Digit commercialization a milestone for humanoids
2019 was an important year for legged robots as Boston Dynamics started leasing its Spot quadruped. The turn of the decade is continuing the momentum of legged robots as Agility Robotics is now selling its Digit humanoid for commercial use. Agility Robotics is on the third version of Digit, which was first introduced February 2019.…
Spot strides onto the market, as Boston Dynamics’ Atlas gets acrobatic
After years of popular online videos, Boston Dynamics has made its Spot quadruped robot available for commercial lease and application development.
Astro robot dog learns new tricks using AI
What would you get if you combined Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa with Boston Dynamic’s quadruped robots? You’d get “Astro,” the four-legged seeing and hearing intelligent robot dog. Using deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI), scientists from Florida Atlantic University’s Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics Laboratory (MPCR) in the Center for Complex Systems and Brain…
Cassie bipedal robot a platform for tackling locomotion challenges
What has two legs, no torso, and hangs out in the basement of the University of Pennsylvania’s Towne Building? It’s Cassie, a dynamic bipedal robot, a recent addition to Michael Posa’s Dynamic Autonomy and Intelligent Robotics (DAIR) Lab. Built by Agility Robotics, a company in Albany, Oregon, Cassie offers Posa and his students the chance…
HyQReal quadruped robot powered by hydraulics
Researchers from Moog and IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia recently completed the design, assembly and testing of the new version of the hydraulic HyQReal quadruped robot. Its capabilities were demonstrated by pulling an 3,300-kg (7,275 lb) airplane for more than 10 m (394 in). The compact HyQReal is just 1.33 m (52 in.) long, and stands…