Meet Spot

‘Spot,’ the 160 pound, electronically powered robot dog designed by Google-owned company, Boston Dynamics, just joined Marines from the Marine Warfighting Lab in an urban terrain drill.

For a full week, the Marines worked closely with employees of the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency and Boston Dynamics to learn how to operate the prototype as they traversed various terrains, which included hills, woodlands, and even urban landscapes. All the while, Spot was being controlled 500 meters (1,640 feet) away with a laptop and a video game controller.

While not the first of its kind, Spot is quieter than previous models and was built to be more agile, making it more efficient for operations. 

Spot, a quadruped prototype robot, aids Marines in clearing a room during a demonstration at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. Credit: USMC
Warfighting Capabilities

“We want to continue to experiment with quadruped technology and find ways that this can be employed to enhance the Marine Corps warfighting capabilities,” said Capt. James Pineiro, the branch head for Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.

Currently, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is looking into how to incorporate robot technology into its operations in the future—investing in robotic research and development, which may reduce threat to Marines and, in the end, help save lives. See Spot in action in the video below.

 

 


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