 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Robotics Artificial intelligence Automation |
| Founded | 1992; 34 years ago (1992) |
| Founder | Marc Raibert |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of employees | 1,000 |
| Parent |
|
| Website | bostondynamics |
| Part ofa series on |
| Automation |
|---|
 |
| Automation in general |
| Robotics androbots |
| Impact of automation |
| Trade shows and awards |
Boston Dynamics, Inc. is an Americanengineering androbotics design company founded in 1992 as aspin-off from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Headquartered inWaltham, Massachusetts, Boston Dynamics has been owned by theHyundai Motor Group since December 2020, but it only completed the acquisition in June 2021.[1]
Boston Dynamics develops a series of dynamic, highly mobile robots, includingBigDog,Spot,Atlas, and Handle. In 2019, Spot became its first commercially available robot after years of exclusively being a defense contractor. The company has stated its intent to commercialize its other military robots, including Handle.
The company was founded byMarc Raibert, who spun the company off from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992.[2] The company was an outgrowth of the Leg Laboratory, Raibert's research lab at MIT andCarnegie Mellon University. The Leg Laboratory assisted with establishing the scientific basis for highly dynamic robots. These robots were inspired by the remarkable ability of animals to move with agility, dexterity, perception, and intelligence, and the work there set the stage for the robots developed at Boston Dynamics.[3] Nancy Cornelius was a co-founder of Boston Dynamics, having joined the company as its first employee. While employed at the company, she served as a Boston Dynamics officer, conducted engineering on many contracts, was CFO for 10 years, and later was VP in charge of engineering on several contracts. She retired after 21 years of service in 2013, when the company was acquired byGoogle.[4] Robert Playter was also a co-founder of the company, joining a few months later, as soon as he completed his PhD thesis at MIT, working with Raibert in the Leg Laboratory. Playter was COO at the company for many years and has been CEO since 2019.[5]
Early in the company's history, it worked with the American Systems Corporation under a contract from theNaval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) to replace naval training videos for aircraft launch operations with interactive3D computer simulations featuring characters made with DI-Guy, software for realistic human simulation.[6] Eventually, the company began manufacturing physical robots—for example,BigDog was a quadrupedrobot designed for the U.S. military with funding fromDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).[7][8]
On December 13, 2013, the company was acquired byGoogle X (laterX, a subsidiary ofAlphabet Inc.) for an unknown price,[9] where it was managed byAndy Rubin until he departed from Google in 2014.[10] Immediately before the acquisition, Boston Dynamics transferred their DI-Guy software product line toVT MÄK, a simulation software vendor based inCambridge, Massachusetts.[11]
On June 8, 2017, Alphabet Inc. announced the sale of the company to Japan'sSoftBank Group for an undisclosed sum.[12] On April 2, 2019, Boston Dynamics acquired the Silicon Valley startup Kinema Systems.[13]
In November 2020, the firm signed an agreement withTrimble Inc. to further develop the Spot dog product.[14]
In December 2020,Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80% stake in the company from SoftBank for approximately $880 million.[15] SoftBank Group retains about 20% through an affiliate.[16] In June 2021, it was announced that Hyundai officially took a controlling stake in the company from SoftBank.[17]
In October 2022, the company signed a pledge saying it would not support any weaponization of its robotic creations. Boston Dynamics offered other robotics companies to join the pledge, with five other firms signing as well.[18]
BigDog was a quadrupedal robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics, in conjunction withFoster-Miller, theJet Propulsion Laboratory, and theHarvard University Concord Field Station.[citation needed] It was funded byDARPA in the hopes that it would be able to serve as a roboticpack mule to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for vehicles, but the project was shelved after BigDog was deemed too loud to be used in combat.[19][20] Instead of wheels, BigDog used four legs for movement, allowing it to move across surfaces that would defeat wheels. Called "the world's most ambitious legged robot", it was designed to carry 340 pounds (150 kg) alongside a soldier at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h; 1.8 m/s), traversing rough terrain at inclines up to 35 degrees.[citation needed]
The Cheetah is a four-footed robot that gallops at 28 miles per hour (45 km/h; 13 m/s), which as of August 2012 is a land speed record for legged robots.[21]
A similar but independently developed robot, also known as Cheetah, has been manufactured by MIT's Biomimetic Robotics Lab,[22] which, by 2014, could jump over obstacles while running.[23][24] By 2018, the robot was able to climb stairs.[25]
Released around 2010,[26] LittleDog is a small quadruped robot developed forDARPA by Boston Dynamics for research. Unlike BigDog, which is run by Boston Dynamics, LittleDog is intended as a testbed for other institutions. Boston Dynamics maintains the robots for DARPA as a standard platform.[27]
LittleDog has four legs, each powered by three electric motors. The legs have a large range of motion. The robot is strong enough for climbing and dynamic locomotion gaits. The onboard PC-level computer does sensing, actuator control, and communications. LittleDog's sensors measure joint angles, motor currents, body orientation, and foot/ground contact. Control programs access the robot through the Boston Dynamics Robot API. Onboard lithium polymer batteries allow for 30 minutes of continuous operation without recharging. Wireless communications and data logging support remote operation and data analysis. LittleDog development is funded by the DARPA Information Processing Technology Office.[28]
PETMAN (Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin) is a bipedal device constructed for testingchemical protection suits. It is the first anthropomorphic robot that moves dynamically like a person.[29]
Legged Squad Support System (LS3), also known as AlphaDog, is a militarized version ofBigDog. It is ruggedized for military use, capable of operating in hot, cold, wet, and dirty environments.[30]
According to Lt. Col. Joe Hitt and the US Marine Corps's program manager, "The vision for LS3 is to combine the capabilities of a pack mule with the intelligence of a trained animal." LS3 is capable of reacting to visual or oral commands and utilizes an on-board GPS system, along with computer vision (LIDAR and IR), to guide itself through terrain. Due to its ability to track oral commands, soldiers within the field found it difficult to hold a conversation with this bot in a vicinity because it would unknowingly follow commands not given to itself. Unlike its living counterparts, LS3 can march for 20 miles (32 km) before running out of fuel. The robot is also more resistant to injury and disability and does not suffer from the shortcomings of bleeding and falling over, the historical weaknessess of mules and othermilitary animals.[31]
The Agile Anthropomorphic Robot "Atlas" is a 5-foot (152.4 cm) bipedalhumanoid robot, based on Boston Dynamics' earlier PETMAN humanoid robot, and designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks.[citation needed]
In February 2016, Boston Dynamics published aYouTube video entitled "Atlas, The Next Generation" showing a new humanoid robot about 5 feet tall (152.4 cm). In the video, the robot is shown performing several tasks that would have been difficult or impossible for the previous generation of humanoid robots.[32]
A video posted to the Boston Dynamics channel of YouTube, dated October 11, 2018, titled "Parkour Atlas", shows the robot easily running up 2-foot high steps onto a platform. Atlas is shown in a September 2019 YouTube video doing "More Parkour".[33]
In April 2024, the company announced that they had retired the hydraulic-based Atlas in favor of a new all-electric version of Atlas.[34]
On June 23, 2016, Boston Dynamics revealed the four-legged canine-inspired Spot, weighing 25 kg (55 pounds), which was lighter than their other products.[35]
In November 2017, a promotional video of Spot using its forward claw to open a door for another robot reached #1 onYouTube, with over 2 million views. A later video, released the same month, showed Spot persisting in attempting to open the door in the face of human interference. Viewers perceived the robot as "creepy" and "reminiscent of all kinds of sci-fi robots that wouldn't give up in their missions to seek and destroy."[36][37][38]
On 11 May 2018, Boston Dynamics CEOMarc Raibert announced at TechCrunch Robotics Session 2018 that Spot was in pre-production and preparing for commercial availability in 2019.[39] On its website, Boston Dynamics highlighted that Spot is the "quietest robot [they] have built." The company said it had plans with contract manufacturers to build the first 100 Spots later that year[40] for commercial purposes, with them starting to scale production with the goal of selling Spot in 2019. However, in September 2019, journalists were informed that the robots will not be sold, but they will be leased to selected business partners.[41] In November 2019Massachusetts State Police became the first law enforcement agency to use Spot as a robot cop, as well as in the unit'sbomb squad.[42]
Since January 2020, Spot'ssoftware development kit has been available viaGitHub. It allows programmers to develop custom applications for Spot to do various actions that could be used across different industries.[43] On 16 June 2020, Boston Dynamics made Spot available for the general public forUS$74,500 (equivalent to $90,517 in 2024).[44]
In June 2020, a lone Spot named 'Zeus' was used bySpaceX at theirBoca Chica Starship Test Site to help contain sub-cooledliquid nitrogen and to inspect 'potentially dangerous' sites at and around the launchpad.[45]
In July 2020, a team of Spot robots performed as cheerleaders in the stands at a baseball match between theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks and theRakuten Eagles, backed by a team of SoftBankPepper Robots.[46]
In November 2020, a Spot robot performed inspection tasks on theSkarvfloating production storage and offloading vessel.[47]
In April 2021,Michael Reeves made a YouTube video where he attached a pressurized beer canister and nozzle to a Spot robot in order to detect red plastic cups and dispense beer into them.[48][49]
In March 2022, artistAgnieszka Pilat sold a painting created by Spot for $40,000 at the home ofBrian Boitano to benefit Ukrainian refugees.[50] The painting, titled "Sunrise March," was created by applying paint on Spot's feet and having the robot rotate in circles.
In February 2024, drivers on theM5 motorway in England were warned they should not be alarmed if they saw a Spot operating alongside the road. TheNational Highways administration had trialed one "as an alternative to human inspectors".[51]
Handle is a research robot with two flexible legs on wheels and two "hands" for manipulating or carrying objects. It can stand 6.5 feet (2 m) tall, travel at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h), and jump 4 feet (1.2 m) vertically. It utilizes electric power to operate various electric and hydraulic actuators, with a range of approximately 15 miles (25 km) on one battery charge. Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance, and mobile manipulation principles found in the other robots by Boston Dynamics; however, with only about 10 actuated joints, it is significantly less complex.[52][53]
On March 29, 2021, Boston Dynamics announced via a video on their YouTube channel the Stretch robot that was designed for warehouse automation. It has a square mobile base containing a set of wheels, a “perception mast” with cameras and other sensors, and a robotic arm with seven degrees of freedom and a suction pad array on the end that can grab and move boxes up to 23 kilograms (50 lbs) in weight.[54]
Pick is a robot just like Stretch, but fixed in a particular place. It is designed to carry boxes. It can identify a box in less than a second. It automatically disposes of the sheet of cardboard in between stacks of boxes.
The Factory Safety Service Robot was unveiled on September 17, 2021.[55][56] It was the first joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group. The robot is based on the existing Boston Dynamics robot Spot. Its integrated thermal camera and 3D LiDAR system help detect nearby people, monitor fire hazards, and recognize open and closed doors.[57][58]
Media related toBoston Dynamics at Wikimedia Commons| Affiliates |
|  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports | ||||||||||||||||
| People | ||||||||||||||||
| Main articles |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Types | ||
| Classifications | ||
| Locomotion | ||
| Navigation andmapping | ||
| Research | ||
| Companies | ||
| Related | ||
