Boston Dynamics’ Spot robo-dog being tested by Marines

This week, the Marine Corps conducted a series of drills to test the efficacy of a new, four-legged robotic companion.

The robot is controlled remotely by an operator within a 500-meter range and was put through its paces at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

The latest version of a walking, quadruped battlefield robot from Boston Dynamics, the military robotics maker owned by Google X, was tested by U.S. Marines last week. It walks on four hydraulically-actuated legs. Spot is also said to handle some terrain that other robots including BigDog and autonomous vehicles can not.

Spot is also smaller, quieter and more agile than previous quadruped robots; video demonstration showed a prototype staying upright despite efforts by Boston employees to topple it.

The benefits of combat robots are potentially huge, allowing combat operations to be undertaken without risking the loss of human life.

“Robots can’t get shot and they can’t die”, said Boston Dynamics roboticist Ben Swilling.

Charlotte Cross has been taking a look at just what has Spot to offer…

Fitted with a laser imaging sensor LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), Spot is able to get a clear view of its surrounding.

“We want to continue to experiment with quadruped technology and find ways that this can be employed to enhance the Marine Corps warfighting capabilities”, said Capt. James Pineiro, the branch head for Marine Corps Warfighting Lab., in a press release. Over the past week or so, the robotic dog was tested for use in different terrains, including urban environments, hilly landscapes, and woodlands. Among other things, Spot is being tested as a way to search for enemies ahead of Marines entering a building. Pineiro told a Defense Media Activity reporter that the Marines “were very receptive to the new technology” and “came up with new ideas we couldn’t even dream up”.

In the past, the United States of America military has talked about using such robots as automated pack mules, following soldiers or heading to preprogrammed points with heavy equipment on their backs.