Boston Dynamics has released new software for its canine robot, Spot, which has sold in relatively large numbers considering its hefty price tag.
The company says the new software – Spot Release 3.0 – adds functionality to make Spot “the data collection solution you need for safer and more efficient inspection rounds”.
Spot’s famous realistic walking ability – the Autowalk system – has logged thousands of miles in industrial facilities and on construction sites around the world.
Boston Dynamics says Release 3.0 adds “powerful new capabilities” to Autowalk, enabling operators to record autonomous missions that implement dynamic sensing sitewide.
- Mission editing: Map your entire site by extending paths and adding new inspection Actions to existing missions over multiple recording sessions.
- Mission planning: Save time by selecting which inspection Actions you want Spot to perform, and it will take the shortest path to collect your data.
- Dynamic replanning: Don’t miss inspections due to changes on site. Spot will replan around blocked paths to make sure you get the data you need.
- Scheduled missions: Inspect your site after hours with simple scheduling tools and hands-free, unsupervised autonomy.
Release 3.0 also makes data capture more reliable and easier to process, says the company. “Now you can connect computer vision models to Spot, adding valuable context to teleoperation and turning raw mission data into actionable signals at the edge.”
- Repeatable image capture: Capture the same image from the same angle every time with scene-based camera alignment for the Spot CAM+ pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera.
- Live review of computer vision models: Use TensorFlow models from our software partners or implement your own computer vision model to carry out inspection tasks such as gauge reading and thermal analysis. Preview computer vision models on the tablet and create smart Actions that process images within Autowalk.
