Image Credit : BostonDynamics
Project Overview
SpotMini is a nimble robot that handles objects, climbs stairs, and will operate in offices, homes and outdoors.
Organisation
Project Context
The quietest robot that Boston Dynamics has ever built, and four times smaller than the original Spot, the SpotMini has been made to assist in office spaces and the home. It will become commercially available in 2019.
Project Innovation
SpotMini is a small four-legged robot that comfortably fits in an office or home. It weighs 25 kg (30 kg if you include the optional arm and gripper that let it pick up fragile objects and right itself after slipping). SpotMini is all-electric and can go for about 90 minutes on a charge, depending on what it is doing.
SpotMini inherits all of the mobility of its bigger brother, Spot, while adding the ability to pick up and handle objects using its 5 degree-of-freedom arm and beefed up perception sensors. The sensor suite includes stereo cameras, depth cameras, an IMU, and position/force sensors in the limbs. These sensors help with navigation and mobile manipulation.
Equipped with this sophisticated navigation system, the robot has successfully been able to autonomously navigate through the company’s offices and lab, following a path it had previously mapped out during a manually driven run.
The SpotMini showcases an almost scary fluidity of movement and highly autonomous capabilities.
Commercial - Experience
Commercial projects recognises that design is the means to create meaningful experiences for users, create value for people and drive profit for businesses.
The experience design category celebrates designed journeys, services, events and processes where the focus is placed on the experiences of the user. Consideration is given according to the design context and need, design innovation and the application of human centred design principles.
More Details
