Spot the Robot Dog joins US Marines in combat training

Published September 24, 2015 2:47pm

Remember Spot, Boston Dynamics’ robot dog? It looks like he’s got a new gig helping the marines test out the potential of using robots in combat.

The US Marine Corps Warfighting Lab brought Spot over to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia to run simulated combat drills, testing Spot out on urban, hill, and woodland terrain. In an urban terrain drill, Spot entered a building before the Marines, looking around corners for possible threats.

“I think a robot like Spot has tons of opportunities [that Marines] could use it for, like scouting or load carriage,” said Ben Swilling, a roboticist from Boston Dynamics.

The Marines were trained by members of Boston Dynamics and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) how to operate Spot, using a radio link from a laptop and a video game controller. The operator could control Spot from up to 500 meters away.

“It’s actually very easy to operate the robots. We have had people as young as four run the robot around,” said Swilling.

Spot himself isn’t intended to be used in an actual battlefield, but the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is looking at the potential use of other robots in the future. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News

Tags: bostondynamics, spot, robotics