When you step inside Boston Dynamics’ headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, you’re greeted with a fascinating blend of industrial practicality and futuristic innovation. The 180,000 square-foot facility, spanning three levels, buzzes with activity. As Brendan Schulman, the company’s VP of policy & government relations, guides visitors through the corridors, robots can be seen navigating their way through testing areas.
“The robots are walking around the building all day and night,” Schulman reveals. “In fact, if you’re here after hours, we kind of let the robots loose, and there’s even more robots walking around.” This continuous activity is part of Boston Dynamics’ rigorous testing process.
“The way you get that level of reliability, which we need for an industrial customer, is just [to] run the robots all the time,” he explains. “When something goes wrong, analyze what happened. It could be a hardware fault or a software bug, which will help us improve.” The tour explores a mix of open laboratories where engineers experiment with robotic limbs and sensors, along with restricted areas housing confidential projects.
Cantilevered meeting rooms offer a strategic view of the robotics labs below. Spot robots, the company’s renowned quadruped creations, can be seen in various stages of assembly. In the ‘robustness lab,’ robots perform repetitive tasks 24/7.
Schulman showcases different test lanes, highlighting the robots’ missions until something breaks, providing valuable data for enhancements. “Once they break, it teaches us how to make the robot even better,” he remarks.
The iterative approach has yielded significant reliability improvements. Schulman reminisces, “When I first started at this company three years ago, you’d hear robots falling down the stairs during the day. Now they’re even more reliable, and it’s been a long time since I heard a robot fall down the stairs.”
Delving deeper into the facility, Schulman traces Boston Dynamics’ robot evolution. From early prototypes to current commercial products, the journey showcases the company’s commitment to innovation.
The future frontier: AI and humanoid robotics
Looking ahead, Boston Dynamics is not content with just Spot and Stretch’s success. The company is venturing into new territories, particularly in humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence.
Currently developing a new version of Atlas, their humanoid robot, Boston Dynamics aims to address the increasing need for machines in industries like automotive manufacturing. The move towards humanoid robots signifies a crucial phase in the company’s growth, potentially enabling them to tackle more complex tasks.
While humanoid robots open new possibilities, Schulman emphasizes that current robots like Spot don’t possess intent. This distinction raises thought-provoking questions about the role of intent in robotics and AI.
As we wrap up the tour, the vision of being at the forefront of a robotic revolution lingers. Boston Dynamics’ relentless pursuit of innovation and progress in robotics offers a glimpse into a future where humans and robots collaborate to accomplish tasks beyond human capabilities.
While Boston Dynamics’ robots may not be fetching sodas yet, they are undeniably propelling us towards a more automated future, reshaping our perception of what machines can achieve.