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Last year at our TC sessions: robotics event, Boston Dynamics announced its intention to market SpotMini. It was a big step for the secret company. After a quarter of building some of the most sophisticated robots in the world, he finally took a step in the commercial field, making the quadruped robot accessible to anyone with the needs and financial resources for the device.
CEO Marc Raibert made an appearance at our event this week to discuss Boston Dynamics' progress over the last 12 months, both with regard to SpotMini and the more general intentions of the company. take a more market-oriented approach to a number of its creations. .
The appearance came soon after the conclusion of a key acquisition for the company. In fact, Kinema was the first major acquisition in the company's history – no doubt aided by the very deep coffers of its parent company, SoftBank. The Bay Area's startup imaging technology is a key component of Boston Dynamics' enhanced version of its wheeled robot. With a new version of the system and its double arms replaced by a multi-suction gripper.
A recent video of the company demonstrated the efficiency and speed with which the system can be deployed to move boxes from a shelf to a conveyor belt. As Raibert noted on stage, Handle is the closest to Boston Dynamics: a robot specifically designed for this purpose, that is, a robot designed from the ground up to perform a specific task. This is a new goal for a company that, after the first days of its DARPA-funded projects, seems to be driven primarily by the desire to create the most sophisticated robots in the world.
"We estimate that about a trillion cubic feet are moved around the world every year," says Raibert. "And most of them are not automated. There is really a huge opportunity there. And of course, this robot is ideal for us because it includes the DNA of a balancing robot, moves dynamically and has counterweights that let it reach long distances. So, in some ways, it's no different from the robots we've been building for years. On the other hand, some are very focused on typing, the ability to see boxes and do tasks like stacking them neatly. "
The company will also keep a foot on this side. Robots such as the Atlas humanoid will still be an important part of his job, even if no commercial application is immediately apparent.
But again, it was SpotMini who was the real star of the show. This time, however, the company has launched the version of the robot that will come into production. At first glance, the robot looked remarkably like the version we had on stage last year.
"We have redesigned many components to make them more reliable, to improve the operation of skins and to protect them in the event of a fall," explains Raibert. "He has two sets [of cameras] in front, one on each side and one on the back. So we can see in all directions.
I had the opportunity to drive the robot, which makes me a relatively small group of people outside the Boston Dynamics offices who have had the opportunity to do so. Although SpotMini has all the necessary technologies for autonomous movement, user control is possible and preferable in certain situations (some of them will be provided soon).
[Gifs featured are sped up a bit from original video above]
The controller is an OEM design that looks like an Xbox controller with a touch screen lengthened in the middle. The robot can be controlled directly with the touch screen, but I have opted for a pair of joysticks. Changing places is a lot like flying a drone. A joystick moves the robot forward and back, the other turns it left and right.
Like a drone, you have to get used to it, especially as regards the orientation of the robot. One direction is always ahead for the robot, but not necessarily for the driver. By pressing a button on the screen, the joystick's functionality switches to the arm (or "neck", according to your perspective). This can be moved as a standard robotic arm / clamp. The gripper can also be kept at rest, while the rest of the robot moves around it in a shimmering way.
Once you understand, it's actually quite simple. In fact, my mother, whose video game experience had peaked at Tetris, was behind the scenes of the event and happily took the Boston Dynamics controller, controlling the robot without a problem.
Boston Dynamics takes off the curtain more than ever. During our conversation, Raibert debuted as component testing scenes. It is a site to discover, with various parts of the robot spread on a laboratory bench. This is an aspect of Boston Dynamics that we have not seen yet. Ditto for images of large spot test Mini corrals, where several patrol autonomously.
Boston Dynamics also has some additional ideas on the future of the robot. Raibert shared images of the Mbadachusetts State Police using different locations in different test scenarios, where the robot's ability to open doors could possibly put human officers out of danger during a hostage or terrorist attack.
Another unit was scheduled to patrol autonomously on a construction site in Tokyo, equipped with a 360 Street View style camera, in order to monitor progress. "This allows the construction company to get an badessment of the progress made on its site," he explains. "You might think it's an uncomplicated task. But these companies have thousands of sites. And they have to watch them at least twice a week to find out where they are. And they plan to use Spot for that. So we have more than a dozen construction companies ready to test at different stages and proof of concept in their scenarios. "
According to Raibert, the Spot Mini is still being released in July. The company plans to manufacture about 100 units when first used, although it is still not ready to talk about price.
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