How ‘Spot’ The Robot Dog Is Set To Patrol The World’s Dangerous Industrial Sites

How ‘Spot’ The Robot Dog Is Set To Patrol The World’s Dangerous Industrial Sites

Spot on patrol for New Brunswick Power. Spot, the robot dog made by Boston Dynamics, was fired this week by the New York City police department, which terminated its $94, 000 lease and returned the machine to its maker. New Yorkers handle a lot of odd stuff on a daily basis, but Spot “” or "Digidog" as the NYPD dubbed him “” was just one uncanny step too far. A spokesman for Mayor Bill DeBlasio reportedly called the robot "creepy" and said he was "glad the Digidog was put down." He better hope the robots don't hold grudges, because even though New York may not be ready to see animatronic canines responding to crime scenes, the robot revolution is coming. Boston Dynamics currently has 500 of these Spot robots working for customers as varied as BP, Woodside, Merck and New Brunswick Power. And according to business development director Michael Perry, they expect to sell 1, 000 more of them this year at a price of about $75, 000 each. Law enforcement is not going to be their primary market. Rather, the early adopters for Spot so far have been industrial companies. In particular, Boston Dynamics says they expect a lot