Brian Ringley and Spot, the Robot
Brian Ringley is the Construction Technology Manager at Boston Dynamics. Much of his work centers on the Spot robot. You could call it an “agile mobile robot” or a “quadraped.” Or you could just call it a robot dog.
But it’s more than just a robot dog, and it’s more than just an agile quadraped. It’s a platform for all kinds of functions. Spot can carry various payloads that serve a range of functions:
Autonomous laser scanning
Continuous site monitoring with continuous 360-degree video
Examination of environments that are radioactive or otherwise dangerous to humans
In short, Spot can provide the large data sets that allow project managers to employ some of the more ambitious AI solutions that are now available. Brian shares about a Boston Dynamics partnership with Drone Deploy.
We discuss some unexpected applications of Spot, including some work in the entertainment industry:
Latte, the steampunk dog at Universal Studios park
Youtube influencers making weird videos
Brian walks us through Spot’s abilities and limitations, explaining how much human guidance is needed for various functions. He’s clear about the fact that Spot won’t fix all of the challenges with BIM, but he discusses how integrations with things like Avvir show promise.
We discuss the social aspects of robots like Spot, including how people respond when they first encounter a robot like this one. Eddie shares that his initial reaction when he saw Spot was, “That’s cool, but what would I do with that?”
Brian discusses the fact that Spot can help contractors pay subs more quickly by verifying the status of their work. (Tyler makes the connection between this insight and our interview with Pete Dumont.)
As you can imagine, this technology is advancing all the time. If you’re interested in seeing an update on Spot developments (since this interview was recorded in 2020), check out this video.
Brian’s Megaphone Message: Don’t confuse technology problems with business model problems. Businesses will benefit when they intelligently take on risk where there’s a potentially substantial reward.
Find Brian online: Brian's LinkedIn - Brian's Instagram - Brian's Twitter - Boston Dynamics and Spot
Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn
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