Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by bogwog on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:36PM (#23541800)

Could a grown man ride it like a horse? This is such a cool, unknown, yet obvious technology but I have no idea what I would use it for. Rescuing people from volcanos? Bringing you a beer? Robot dog races or fights? This is obviously designed for industrial and rescue uses, but I think it could be most successful in the entertainment industry (don't know how ethical that would be though)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by Ajedi32 on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:48PM (#23541924)

As others have said you can't directly ride it (the max payload is too low), but Adam Savage did manage to hook it up to a rickshaw and ride it that way: https://youtu.be/zyaocKS3sfg?t=1358

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by leovander on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:53PM (#23541984)

Not as a horse, but a rickshaw.

"Adam Savage's Spot Robot Rickshaw Carriage!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyaocKS3sfg

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by boston_sre87 on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:40PM (#23541836)

PAYLOADS

Max weight = 14 kg total (30.9 lbs) Mounting area = 850 mm (L) x 240 mm (W) x 270m m (H) Mounting interface = M5 T-slot rails Connector = DB25 (2 ports) Power supply = Unregulated DC 35-58.8V, 150W per port Integration = Available software API and hardware interface control documentation

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by abledon on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @03:05PM (#23542836)

You'd need 4 -5 of them holding up a palanquin that you sit on.

sibling comment said max weight is 30.9 lbs per SPOT. So go on a diet, do some ascetic yoga, get down to 150 lbs or so. and then get 4-5 of them holding up your royal vessel.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by yellowapple on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @07:56PM (#23545869)

Seems like it'd be more effective to integrate a single beefier spot into the palanquin itself: https://steven-universe.fandom.com/wiki/Diamond_Palanquins

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by jefftk on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:40PM (#23541837)

No: "Max weight = 14 kg total (30.9 lbs)"

https://shop.bostondynamics.com/DefaultStore/spot?cclcl=en_U...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by jyounker on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @02:16PM (#23542292)

However, a very small child can ride it. :)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by blaser-waffle on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @04:23PM (#23543603)

I'd be worried about pinch points or babby stickin fingers into sensors

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by jefftk on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @09:46PM (#23546782)

Not such a small child; my 4yo is about that!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by musingsole on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:43PM (#23541877)

Some comments here show the max payload is too low. But I've had the same thoughts, so what does it take to scale Spot to the size/max payload of a horse?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by lgl on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @02:28PM (#23542453)

I guess more importantly, when an AT-AT [0] sized one?

[0] https://www.starwars.com/databank/at-at-walker/

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by zokier on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @03:35PM (#23543137)

Like BigDog? Not quite horse capacity, but still rideable in terms of load, although I don't know if it would screw up the balance

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by Animats on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @05:57PM (#23544762)

They had a horse sized payload with the Legged Squad Support system.[1] It worked, but the Marines tried it and it wasn't useful enough. They ended up going with a small ATV for supplies.

(Too noisy, too. A subcontractor was supposed to produce a small, quiet Diesel to power a generator and hydraulic pump, but that never happened. Probably because a small, quiet Diesel is hard. The US military runs on one fuel, JP-8, which works in both aircraft and Diesel engines, so to deploy this, it had to run on JP-8)

[1] https://youtu.be/LIaXEMOhihw

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by jdhn on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @01:40PM (#23541839)

Get 4 or 6 of these, hook it up to a sled with wheels, and you have your own robotic dogsledding team.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Boston Dynamics shop: Spot Explorer by jpindar on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @11:02PM (#23547258)

They did that with some Big Dogs, there's a video.

[ Parent | on HN ]