---
title: "This Site Lets You Control an Actual Boston Dynamics Robodog With a PlayStation Controller"
description: "Thanks to San Francisco-based startup Formant, you can remotely a control a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog to go for a stroll."
date: "2020-08-04"
modified: "2020-08-04"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/site-control-boston-dynamics-robot-dog-walk"
categories:
  - "Boston Dynamics"
  - "Robot Dogs"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "boston dynamics"
  - "robot dog"
  - "spot"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Site Lets You Control an Actual Boston Dynamics Robodog With a PlayStation Controller

![Thanks to San Francisco-based startup Formant, you can remotely a control a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog to go for a stroll.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/site-control-boston-dynamics-robot-dog-walk.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Formant\</em\>*

## Walk With Spot

San Francisco-based startup Formant has developed tech that lets you remotely control a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog from the comfort of your living room, [*CNET* reports](<https://www.cnet.com/news/i-walked-the-boston-dynamics-spot-robot-dog-remotely-and-only-crashed-once-formant/>), right inside your browser. All you need is a stable internet connection.

The demonstration is mostly a way to showcase software that lets you control a variety of robots, from underwater drones to automated guided vehicles.

"Spot's fantastic because it's the first robot that can reliably navigate the world in a non-structured environment," Jeff Linnell, CEO of Formant, told *CNET*.

## Going for a Stroll

*CNET* reporter Lexy Savvides walked the robot dog from a mile away in her living room, using a PlayStation controller to steer it through a park in San Francisco. A human handler stayed by its side the entire time.

The robot dog [went on sale](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/boston-dynamics-spot-robot-dog-now-available>) for a cool $74,500 earlier this year and has been put to use at [oil rigs](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-robot-dog-work-oil-rig>), construction sites, and [even hospitals](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hospitals-ipads-robot-dogs-doctors>) during the ongoing pandemic.

To get a shot at controlling a robot dog for yourself, you'll have to [fill out a form](<https://formant.io/events/walk-with-spot/>) on Formant's website. The company is looking to test its software out on kids and others, who aren't particularly into technology, according to *CNET*.

**READ MORE:** [I walked Spot, the Boston Dynamics robot dog, remotely -- and only crashed once](<https://www.cnet.com/news/i-walked-the-boston-dynamics-spot-robot-dog-remotely-and-only-crashed-once-formant/>) \[*CNET*\]

**More on Spot:** *[Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog Is Going to Work on an Oil Rig](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boston-dynamics-robot-dog-work-oil-rig>)*

## 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>)