See Spot Sell

June 17, 2020
2 min read
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This past Janaury (i.e., 100 years ago? It's hard to tell), we reported on Spot, a robot from Boston Dynamics with a striking resemblance to a dog (hence the name). It is now officially for sale, starting at a cool $75,000. 

Spot is not the first robot to make it into a construction jobsite. We've reported on several, including the popular bricklaying bot Sam100, which has a list price of $500,000. But spot is unique in that it was developed to be customizable in its applications. 

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For instance, in partnership with HoloBuilder, Spot was recently tested as a possible autonomous construction site inspector. And as a test of its efficacy, it was set loose on a jobsite for construction company Hensel Phelps. The robot visited the same areas everyday, taking photos, and organizing them to show chronological progress (and potential problems). Reports were sent directly from Spot to the site's managers—meaning Spot didn't act so much as a helper as it did an employee. Suddenly, $75,000 seems less like a pricetag than it does a one-time salary.  

Partnerships with companies like HoloBuilder are not merely one-offs, but rather an example of how Spot was intended to be used. The machine's platform is intentional customizable. Spot has been paired withg laser scanners from FARO and Trimble to create digital twins of jobsites; has been integrated with Cognite to measure pressure, flow, and temperature gauges; and has even been rigged with microphones to analyze operating noises and detect abnormalities. The possibilities are virtually endless. 

While the basic Spot package is $75,000, additional purchasing options are available. 

About the Author

James F. McClister

James McClister is managing editor for Professional Remodeler.

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