The energetic quadruped robot Spot from robotics firm Boston Dynamics has become a curious sight on construction jobs over the last couple of years, as multiple pilot efforts have tried to find the best fit for the autonomous robotic dog. But Spot is now taking its most concrete steps into the industry as a version launching with an official Trimble laser-scanning payload that is designed for easy deployment on the jobsite.
“A lot of the customers in the construction space are looking for out of the box functionality,” says Brian Ringley, construction technology manager at Boston Dynamics. With the new integrated package from the robot manufacturer and Trimble, “you get the robot and sensors to provide end value—you as the end user don’t have to do anything particularly technical to get it going.”