Overview
- Boston Dynamics posted a demo video Tuesday showing Spot ride out of a van, carry parcels on a conveyor mounted to its back, walk up steps and unload packages at front doors.
- The company says the conveyor version can carry two 16x12x10-inch parcels and has been tested for gentle handling, including a trial delivery of a carton of eggs to check package care.
- Boston Dynamics is in talks with major logistics firms and is targeting a pilot in which a Spot works with a driver to deliver about 200 packages per day, five days a week.
- Key adoption questions include the robot's roughly $75,000 price, its limited per-trip payload, and whether the system yields enough time savings for drivers to justify the cost.
- Spot builds on years of non-consumer uses such as inspections and search-and-rescue, and Boston Dynamics says the robot could help close the ‘last 50 feet’ gap in delivery while prompting tests of operational workflows and scale.