Boston Dynamics, the Waltham company that was acquired by Google in 2013, has just released its newest robot, a four-legged horse-like creation called Spot.
The electrically-powered robot is designed for indoor and outdoor operation and has a sensor head that helps it navigate rough terrain, according to the company. Spot weighs about 160 pounds, significantly lighter than Boston Dynamics’ bigger four-legged robot, BigDog, which weighs in at 240 pounds.
And from Boston Dynamics’ video showing Spot in action, it looks like the robot is capable of balancing itself after being kicked or pushed.
Boston Dynamics has developed a series of robots that look like animals including BigDog, which was originally funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and is the size of a large dog or small mule. It’s also developed two human-like robots, Atlas and Petman.
Last fall, Boston Dynamics’ founder, Marc Raibert told an audience at Northeastern University that the company is continuing to innovate in the field of robotics even after it was acquired by Google.
“We’re still doing the same kind of work, working on dynamic robots that can operate in a variety of circumstances,” he said.
Watch the video of Spot below:
