Quadruped Robot Named Spot Trains at Marines Warfighting Lab
Posted on September 26, 2015
A quadruped prototype robot named Spot trained with U.S Marines at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va. this week. The robot was developed by Boston Dynamics. Spot is pictured above aiding Marines in clearing a room.
Spot is an electrically powered, hydraulically actuated robot. It weighs 160 pounds. It is leaner and quieter than its predecessors LS3 and BigDog. The robot can be controlled by an operator using a laptop and video game controller from as far away as 500 meters.
Capt. James Pineiro, the branch head for Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, says in a statement, "We want to continue to experiment with quadruped technology and find ways that this can be employed to enhance the Marine Corps warfighting capabilities. The Marines have been very receptive to the new technology, embrace it and come up with new ideas we couldn't even dream up."
Some of the uses of the robot included scouting and carrying heavy loads. The Marines simulated having Spot peak around corners to look for enemies and potential threats during the training exercises.
This video released earlier this year by Boston Dynamics introduced Spot. Spot gets kicked a couple times during the video but does not fall over. Spot also maneuvers easily over steps and rough terrain.
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