Boston Dynamics’ ambitions in the field of robotics have been the stuff that Internet virality is made of. The engineering and robotics company has already produced incredibly skillful machines that will haunt your nightmares if you’re one of those who’s convinced humanity is doomed and that the rise of the robots is at hand. The company’s robots have, for example, already shown an ability to navigate obstacles Parkour-style, easily manipulate boxes in a warehouse, deftly handle stairs and other barriers, along with much more.
And now, it seems, the company’s designs are about to move from controlled test environments to the real world. The company’s four-legged, dog-like robot Spot — its first commercial robot — is going on sale soon.
That’s according to a new piece from The Verge, which was told by Boston Dynamics’ CEO Marc Raibert that although there’s no firm launch date yet, Spot should start to be available for purchase “within months” and before the end of the year. “We’re just doing some final tweaks to the design,” the CEO told the news site. “We’ve been testing them relentlessly.”
The Redistricting Scheme That Could Help Dems Retake the House
Lawyers Claim Man’s Life ‘Stolen’ By ICE: Turns Out He Shot at an Officer
Russia tries to revive its relevance with support for Iran after failure to fight US moves in Venezuela
Trump vows to ‘take out’ Indiana GOP leader over redistricting fight
Homan Confirms ICE Agent Who Shot Renee Good Is ‘in Hiding’ Amid Rabid Leftist Death Threats
Progressive-backed Analilia Mejia faces uphill battle in bid to replace Mikie Sherrill
Border Patrol commander vows continued tear gas use after Minnesota fedreal judge’s order
Man allegedly assaulted with flagpole by Minneapolis anti-ICE agitators in violent parking garage attack
Tim Walz Gets the Response He Deserves After Suddenly Saying He Wants to ‘Turn the Temperature Down’
Minnesota National Guard placed on standby to support law enforcement as protests turn violent
Illegal migrant workers caught on camera leaping across rooftops to escape Border Patrol in California raid
‘SET UP’: Cohen Accuses Alvin Bragg, Letitia James of Coercing Him to Turn on Trump
Trump Gives Compassionate Response to Renee Good’s Father, Calls Her Likely ‘Wonderful’ Under ‘Normal Circumstances’
‘Where Was the Outrage?’: Father of 21-Year-Old Woman Killed By Illegal Rips Renee Good Protesters
One of Tyler Robinson’s last meals as a free man may have been a steak dinner — medium rare
This follows a series of public appearances for the company and the robot, which was shown off in recent days at Amazon’s Re:MARS conference in Las Vegas. A pair of Boston Dynamics employees were seen shepherding Spot through the crowd on the first night of the event.
Raibert went on to say the company is aiming to start churning out 1,000 robots a year. What will be interesting to watch is whether Boston Dynamics can turn this into a commercially viable enterprise. The company is not alone in this field, with a number of rivals to contend with, and it remains to be seen whether and why companies will buy robots like Spot enough to represent significant revenue for the manufacturer.
In the meantime, check out some of our earlier coverage diving into the myriad uses and robot skills Boston Dynamics has already experimented with — and succeeded in terrifying the Internet over.
Story cited here.
