Earlier this month, Boston Dynamics unveiled a collaboration with UAE software company Analog to deploy Spot, the Massachusetts company’s robot dog, across public spaces in the region.
The project is one of the first wide-scale deployments of Spot outside industrial settings, requiring Boston Dynamics to advance the robot’s spatial understanding and physical intelligence to safely navigate unstructured environments. Initial work will focus on park inspections, environmental monitoring and accessibility assessments. In the longer term, Spot could operate at a city-wide scale, interacting directly with residents.
In this Q&A, Marc Theermann, chief strategy officer at Boston Dynamics, discusses the project and how it fits in with the vendor’s broader strategy to make its robots smarter and more flexible than ever before.
Can you tell me about the collaboration with Analog? How does it push Spot into new applications?
Marc Theermann: Today Spot has two main use cases. The first is teleoperation in dangerous environments. In those scenarios, Spot becomes the eyes and ears on the ground where humans shouldn’t be.
The second is autonomous industrial inspection, when Spot autonomously traverses a factory floor and collects data using an array of sensors, enabling predictive and preventive maintenance.
What’s new with Analog is the scale. They have ambitions to do that at a city-wide, if not nationwide, scale. These robots could monitor air quality, detect structural anomalies, and even appear in shopping malls where you can interact with them as a kind of mobile guide.
We’re thrilled about the partnership because it’s really the first time that we’re walking out of the factory into the real world. Hopefully, that sets us on a path toward developing service robots and, eventually, robots that people can have in their homes.
Has the project changed the requirements of Spot, and how it interacts with its surroundings?
Theermann: The hardware and sensors are largely the same, but two big changes are happening on the software side.
First, Spot is moving from structured to unstructured environments. Inside a factory, we pre-map the entire space so the robot knows every corridor and obstacle. Outside, that all disappears. Spot has to handle uncharted exploration, which requires a new layer of autonomy and perception.
Second, people will be able to interact with Spot directly for the first time. That brings us into the domain of Embodied AI, and that’s what Analog is bringing to the table. They have developed an AI character called Ana, which will be embedded into Spot, and which will be able to have conversations with users.
Why is Embodied AI important for robotics? How is it changing the industry?
Theermann: Embodied AI fundamentally changes the way people relate to machines. There’s a lot of research, for example, in children’s hospitals and elder-care facilities, which shows people engage differently with AI when it’s embodied in a physical body. Patients respond more emotionally, build trust faster, and can even recover more quickly.
While Boston Dynamics has been focused on building industrial tools, for these to become co-workers in the future, a level of human interaction will still be necessary. So even for an industrial company, Embodied AI is going to become more and more important.
In the future, Spot could also become a carrier for other Embodied AI systems, acting as a mobile, highly reliable platform that can go anywhere a person can.
How is Boston Dynamics responding to changing demands for software and hardware in AI?
Theermann: Several major advances in AI over the past two years have had a transformative effect on robotics.
A big one is semantic navigation, which means robots are beginning to understand their environment. Previously, when Spot encountered a human in a factory, it would be treated like any other stationary object. But now, Spot recognizes you as a human and behaves differently. It will give you a wider berth or wait for you to pass.
Another is reinforcement learning. Two years ago, teaching a robot a new skill could take three months. Now it takes 48 hours. We’ve also discovered that if a robot becomes better at one skill, it actually increases its capability to do other skills and helps improve its generality.
What do you think is driving the demand for more robotic integration in the workforce?
Theermann: Two things are happening here. First, there’s a huge labor shortage. We’re seeing a lot of people aging out of highly technical jobs, and they’re taking the skills with them. In response, companies want to transfer some of this knowledge into robotic systems and let them take over jobs, particularly those that are dull, dirty and dangerous.
Second, fixed automation is expensive and rigid. You can automate almost anything with enough infrastructure, but once it’s installed, you’re locked in. Robots like Spot or Atlas offer mobile automation without the need for new construction. And if your business changes, the robots adapt with you.
That’s why there’s so much interest and hype. Robots make automation possible in brownfield facilities without altering the physical environment.
What are the challenges of integrating technology like this?
Theermann: Regulatory hurdles are definitely a problem, particularly in Europe, because a lot of the regulations in place are outdated. They were written ten to 15 years ago, and they didn’t account for autonomous machines operating in a factory.
In America, by contrast, there are a lot of cultural hurdles, but we’ve seen some creative ways of improving acceptance.
One client, BMW, paraded Spot through the cafeteria so employees could meet it and ask questions. Intel ran a naming contest so the workforce could choose Spot’s name. Once people see the robot as something fun and useful rather than intimidating, deployment becomes much easier.
By contrast, the UAE is very welcoming to robotics and to experiments, and ultimately, you do need this government interest if you want to see technological rollout.
Looking ahead, how do you see the robotics landscape changing? Is there anything you’re particularly excited about?
Theermann: In 20 years, I believe we’ll have general-purpose humanoids doing jobs humans can’t, or shouldn’t, do. If labor becomes abundant because humanoid robots can handle it, think about the creativity that could be freed up for people.
I also believe these robots will live among us as companions, helpers, even friends. Not as fast as some people are claiming in the media right now, but I think it will certainly be by the end of this decade. And that’s an exciting future.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness
