---
title: "Watch a Robot Dog Herd Sheep on a New Zealand Farm"
description: "New Zealand-based robotics company Rocos just shared a video of how Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot Spot could give agriculture workers a hand."
date: "2020-05-19"
modified: "2020-05-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-dog-herd-sheep-new-zealand"
categories:
  - "Robot Dogs"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "agricultural robot"
  - "boston dynamics"
  - "robot dog"
  - "spot"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch a Robot Dog Herd Sheep on a New Zealand Farm

![New Zealand-based robotics company Rocos just shared a video of how Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot Spot could give agriculture workers a hand.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/robot-dog-herd-sheep-new-zealand.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Rocos\</em\>*

## Good Boy Spot

New Zealand-based robotics company Rocos just shared a video of how Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot Spot could give agriculture workers a hand — by herding sheep, inspecting crop yields, and relieving labor shortages.

https://youtu.be/RBLnAhzPpTQ

## Dirty Work

Rocos announced that it's partnering with Boston Dynamics to investigate how its robot dog could help out on farms.

"Our customers are augmenting their human workforces to automate physical processes that are often dull, dirty, or dangerous," Rocos CEO David Inggs said in a [press release](<https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519005539/en/Rocos-Partners-Boston-Dynamics-Upskill-Autonomous-Spot>).

## Remote Control

The company is hoping Spot could provide real-time feedback as it navigates and scans rugged environments. By creating these maps, farmers could inspect yield estimates of their crops without having to go out.

In fact, the task of operating the robot could be fulfilled by practically anybody, even if it means outsourcing to another country.

Ever since Boston Dynamics put its robot dog on sale last year, people have found a huge number of uses for it, from using iPads to [turn robot dogs into ersatz doctors](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hospitals-ipads-robot-dogs-doctors>), to [baggy hoodie-wearing dancers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robodog-twerk-baggy-hoodie-basketball-shorts>) on TikTok.

**READ MORE:** [Watch a Boston Dynamics robot herd sheep in New Zealand](<https://www.engadget.com/boston-dynamics-spot-robots-herd-sheep-135533533.html>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on Spot:** *[HOSPITALS ARE USING IPADS TO TURN ROBOT DOGS INTO DOCTORS](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hospitals-ipads-robot-dogs-doctors>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)