Boston Dynamics has gone from the battlefield to the home with a smaller, quieter quadruped robot that can navigate around the house and even fetch you a drink – if you can get it to let go of the can. The focus of a new video released today, the SpotMini is a more compact and streamlined version of the Spot robot unveiled in 2015 and boasts an articulated arm with a manipulator that looks like a cross between a sheep's head and an oven mitt.
The video, which is presented without narration, shows the comparative size of the SpotMini compared to the previous Spot iteration, its relatively quiet operation, and its ability to easily crawl under the legs of its predecessor and under a table. In addition, it can negotiate a crowded dining room, climb stairs, and get up again after taking a fall after its human colleagues have thoughtlessly left banana peels on the floor.
Along with its nimbleness, the SpotMini demonstrates its ability to use its arm to load a dishwasher and throw out garbage as well as do a strange little dance while its manipulator maintains its position in midair. The video even shows the robot bringing a human a can of soda then playing tug of war for possession of the can in a very robodog-like fashion.
According to Boston Dynamics, the SpotMini weighs in at only 55 lb (25 kg) or 65 lb (29 kg) with the arm. Unlike previous Boston Dynamics robots, the SpotMini lacks hydraulics and its all-electric systems make it the quietest the company has yet produced. It runs on an internal battery for up to 90 minutes and has stereoscopic depth cameras, a solid-state gyro, and sensors that allow it to determine what position its limbs are in. Its creators say that although it can carry out many tasks autonomously, it still needs humans for high-level guidance.
You can see the SpotMini strutting its stuff in the video below.
Source: Boston Dynamics
I'm still disappointed in the robotics industry for not putting more effort behind solving things like autonomous indoor navigation because it's something that could be done with a few inexpensive sensors and most of the heavy lifting done in software.
You could take an Amazon Echo or Google Home with a camera and some wheels and use it for home security, telepresence, checking on the house while away etc.
There is some application that could be started and expanded upon over time but nobody is going to buy something like that until the problem of an inexpensive mobility platform is solved. Some day the applications that exist on such a platform could be worth the expense of buying a boston dynamics platform for a household (for close to what a car costs) but until the applications are there that won't happen.
The Asus Zenbo might be one of the closer attempts I have seen at a viable household robot. A lot of the problems that need to be solved are in software but once that is mature it would be viable to move that application/intelligence to something like the Boston Dynamics SpotMini seen here. Google owns many of the pieces to that puzzle (Android, Tango, Home, Chromecast) already.
It will be a while before AI reaches human capability but an AI dog that doubles as a telepresence system and security sentry? That might not be that challenging to design in software and I would probably buy one. I'm sure there could be commercial application for it too. Since it would be networked it could communicate with motion sensors to make it easy for it to greet people at the door.