We have seen the Spot robot dog, manufactured by Boston Dynamics, in hospitals, at a crime scene, or in space missile testing facilities, but the latest sighting occurred as it strolled down a Florida beach while attached to a leash.
People walking pet dogs on a leash is common. Unless it’s a robot dog. To what extent people are ready to see robots next to them in everyday life, a small experiment showed. A woman has been filmed taking one of Boston Dynamics’ $75,000 robot dogs she named ‘Scrappy’ for a walk down a street in Florida while hundreds of onlookers watched with excitement – and some with fear.
During the walk, Scrappy showed off its skills by sitting up and stopping when commanded, as well as maneuvering around crowds and objects in its path.
The video shows several people chasing the woman and her metallic friend and taking pictures of the curious walk with their phones. Scrappy lives a fairly normal life and even has its own YouTube channel where its owners share some moments from their daily lives. There, you can see how Scrappy communicates with a real dog, how passers-by and police react to it.
The four-legged robot recently went on sale to the public for $75,000 and is generally used by companies, but it seems like the robot dogs may soon become a household pet.
The robotic canine Spot, suited for indoor or outdoor use, became available to the public in June 2020 but has been developed by Boston Dynamics since 2015. It can map its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs, and open doors. It can perform hazardous tasks in a variety of inhospitable environments such as nuclear plants, offshore oil fields, and construction sites.
