Boston Dynamics SpotMini Opens Doors, Signals Future Military Use
A new video shows Boston Dynamics' SpotMini robot successfully opening doors with its head-mounted arm. This advanced mobility points to potential near-future military applications for robotic quadrupeds in the field.
A new video from robotics firm Boston Dynamics shows the updated SpotMini successfully opening doors using a head-mounted arm attachment. In the footage, one SpotMini grips the door handle, holds the door open with its jaw, and allows a second robot to pass through before following behind. The video quickly gains massive online attention, but defense community leaders focus on the serious practical implications of this technology.
Four-legged machines like the 55-pound SpotMini offer significant near-future capabilities for the military. A camouflaged version of this robotic quadruped potentially takes point on missions, opens doors, peeks around corners, and uses infrared vision to detect threats. These animal-inspired features provide a glimpse into the type of agile robots that soon accompany infantry squads into complex field environments.
The all-electric SpotMini navigates multiple terrains and manipulates objects using an array of advanced perception sensors. These sensors include stereo cameras, depth cameras, an inertial measurement unit, and position or force sensors in its limbs. As this smaller and nimbler version of the original Spot robot continues to demonstrate increasingly complex skills, it proves that dexterity no longer remains a strictly human advantage on the battlefield.