We received the latest version of Spot

It has been almost a year since we welcomed a new member to the Plain Concepts team. Spot, the most advanced Boston Dynamics quadruped robot on the market, arrived at our offices so that we could develop the technology that will allow it to tackle industrial tasks that require artificial intelligence or its handling through the HoloLens 2.

After these months of learning and improving its capabilities, we have decided to go one step further to become one of the global reference companies in developing industrial solutions on this robotic platform. For this reason, we now have the latest version of the Spot robot, one of the few units delivered worldwide, and with which we will make great advances.

But, first, we analyze all the new features and differences from the previous version.

What’s new in Spot’s capabilities

One of the most important advantages of Spot is that it is designed as a scalable platform that is constantly evolving. Therefore, this version includes improved cameras, a new tablet to control the robot or a more powerful charger.

Upgraded cameras

Spot’s five stereo cameras now provide color images instead of black and white as before.

These cameras also include information about the depth of their surroundings, which helps them map their environment in three dimensions.

This change to color, therefore, improves the operator’s vision by making it easier for him to decipher his surroundings.

New Tablet

Spot’s upgraded Tablet is one of the major improvements for robot operators, as it is the first point of contact with the platform. It now has several upgrades that ensure easier use and greater features.

It features an intuitive eight-inch touch screen and digital joysticks for driving Spot and recording its path. In addition, the larger display offers more screen space for mission editing, teleoperation, and data review, providing more processing power for better visualization.

On the other hand, it is more resistant to the elements, it has protection against falls, and its battery lasts eight hours.

Smarter and faster charger

One of the weaknesses of the previous model was the slow battery charger and the little information it provided. The new model is accompanied by a smarter, faster charger that brings the batteries up to full capacity in about 30 minutes and lasts just over 90 minutes.

A new LCD display is now introduced that shows animations and the charge percentage in real-time. In addition, you can continue to charge the robot directly or exchange batteries for continuous operation.

Edge Computing and communication capabilities

With this new version, they have introduced two new payloads:

• A new Spot Core I/O, which brings 5G connectivity and uses the Nvidia Jetson Xaver NX module and includes a 6-core ARM processor with a dedicated GPU. In other words, it enables new edge computing scenarios.
• On the other hand, the Rajant Kinetic Mesh Radio kit is very useful for scenarios where wifi or 5G connectivity is unavailable. This kit contains three radio beacons that can cover an area of 18 square kilometers.

We are eager to share with you the new developments we have just started with this unique Spot version on the market. We will be able to share more information with you very soon, so stay tuned!

In addition, if you want to learn more about the robot’s possibilities, we offer workshops and consultancies with Spot so that you can get the most out of its capabilities. Do you want to know what they consist of?