Boston Dynamics robot dogs — 10 of them, looking more like a robot centipede than a dog — pulled a truck up a slight grade to show off their power.
This is the Boston Dynamics SpotMini, a 66 pound quadruped machine that will be on the market this year. The makers see this as a helper for the home or office, not an industrial situation, but it is available with an arm and it does pack some real power.
Boston Dynamics describes this robot as “nimble,” though writers outside the company tend to go with terms like “creepy.”
It’s all-electric and can run for about 90 minutes before it needs a charge. It can climb stairs and carry things, so it could eventually team up with Alexa to make and bring you a cup of coffee.
SpotMini can open doors. That’s a serious challenge for robots. SpotMini can also get up after it falls down, which is another useful skill for robots, though falling down could certainly lead to spilled coffee. We have seen it try to give someone a canned drink and we’ve seen it try to do dishes. We assume these efforts were the closest to successful tasks they’ve got, and we’re still saying that SpotMini’s coffee-getting skills are eventual.
In the meantime, when you need support or service for your electric Rexroth industrial motion control, call us first. Avoid unnecessary downtime by bringing in the experts in the first place.