By Jared Newman

杰里德·纽曼(Jared Newman)

A couple years ago, the internet had a mild freakout when the robotics company Boston Dynamics showed off a dog-like robot opening the door for one of its pals. Twitter commentators called the demonstration “terrifying,” “the end of us all,” and a sign that “we’re all dead.”

几年前，当机器人公司Boston Dynamics展示了一个像狗一样的机器人为其中一个朋友打开门时，互联网出现了轻微的变化 。 Twitter评论员将该游行示威称为“ 恐怖” ，“ 我们所有人的 灭绝 ”，并表示“ 我们都死了” 。

But that little bit of robot collaboration was just the beginning for Spot, the robot Boston Dynamics has been leasing out for industrial use since last fall. Now that Spot is out in the real world, Boston Dynamics has received “more than a few” requests to have it team up with other robots, says Michael Perry, Boston Dynamics’s vice president of business development. The company is now allowing other businesses to purchase Spot outright, and has provided tools so they can integrate it with entire robot fleets.

但是，一点点的机器人协作仅仅是Spot的开始，自去年秋天以来，波士顿动力公司就开始将其出租用于工业用途 。 波士顿动力公司业务发展副总裁迈克尔·佩里说，既然Spot已进入现实世界，则波士顿动力公司已经收到了“与其他机器人合作”的“多个请求”。 该公司现在允许其他企业直接购买Spot，并提供了工具，以便他们可以将其与整个机器人车队集成。

“It’s not just Spot riding on a wheeled robot, but we’ve had some customers looking at Spot carrying a drone, and the drone flies off the back of the robot, does inspection of something that’s high up, lands on the back of the robot, and continues on its mission,” Perry says. “There are a lot of advantages and opportunities to explore the ways different types of automation can collaborate together.”

“这不仅是Spot骑在轮式机器人上，而且我们有一些客户看着Spot携带无人机，然后无人机从机器人的后部飞出，对高空物体进行检查，然后降落在机器人的背面机器人，并继续执行任务。”佩里说。 “探索不同类型的自动化可以一起协作的方式有很多优势和机会。”

As Boston Dynamics tries to transition away from its roots in government-funded research, making Spot play nice with other robots can help it ingratiate itself with businesses, which are increasingly asking for ways to make robots work together.

随着波士顿动力试图从政府资助的研究中脱颖而出，让Spot与其他机器人玩得很好可以帮助它与企业讨好，而企业也越来越在寻求使机器人协同工作的方法。

轮子和腿 (Wheels and Legs)

One of Boston Dynamics’s first industrial customers is Ford, which has been testing Spot at both its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, MI, and the UAW-Ford Technical Training Center in Dearborn, MI. Equipped with a laser scanner and 360-degree video camera, Spot has been capturing 3D images of parts, tools, and room layouts. Ford then turns the output into computer-aided design files and virtual reality programs, which it uses to retool its assembly plants.

福特是波士顿动力公司的第一批工业客户之一，福特已经在密歇根州雷德福德的高级制造中心和密歇根州迪尔伯恩的UAW-福特技术培训中心进行了Spot测试。 配备激光扫描仪和360度摄像机的Spot可以捕获零件，工具和房间布局的3D图像。 然后，福特将输出结果转换为计算机辅助设计文件和虚拟现实程序，将其用于重新组装工厂。

Spot doesn’t work alone, though. Ford also uses an autonomous wheeled robot to drive around its facilities and capture its own images, sort of like a Roomba with a tripod and cameras sticking out of the top. (Ford came up with its own names for the two robots: Fluffy for Boston Dynamics’s creation and Scouter for the robot on wheels.) Mark Goderis, a Ford digital engineering manager, says the pair can scan a three-million-square-foot facility in about a week, versus two weeks for the manual process of capturing images on a stationary tripod, while also reducing costs.

不过，Spot并不孤单。 福特还使用自动轮式机器人在其设施周围行驶并捕获自己的图像，就像Roomba带有三脚架和从顶部伸出的摄像头。 (福特给这两个机器人起了自己的名字：Fluffy代表Boston Dynamics的创造，Scouter代表带轮机器人。)福特数字工程经理Mark Goderis说，这对机器人可以扫描一个300万平方英尺的设施。大约需要一周的时间，而在固定的三脚架上手动拍摄图像需要两个星期，同时还可以降低成本。

“The idea is . . . we’d have that in every one of our facilities to be able to update scans whenever our employees need it,” Goderis says. That way, they can have up-to-date views of how their facilities are laid out.

“这个主意是。 。 。 我们希望在我们的每一个设施中都能够在员工需要时更新扫描。” Goderis说。 这样，他们就可以了解设施的最新布局。

Unlike the wheeled robot, Spot isn’t autonomous in Ford’s implementation — someone has to control it remotely — but it can get into tighter spaces, walk up flights of stairs, and navigate tough terrain that the other robot can’t handle. Goderis says he’d like the pair of robots to have more autonomy and work as a team, especially as they expand to more facilities. In August, Ford is moving the robots out of its research and training facilities and into an actual transmission plant in Sterling Heights, MI.

与轮式机器人不同的是，Spot在福特的实现中并不是自主的-有人必须对其进行远程控制-但它可以进入更狭窄的空间，走上楼梯，并导航其他机器人无法处理的艰难地形。 Goderis说，他希望这对机器人具有更大的自主权和团队合作精神，尤其是当它们扩展到更多设施时。 八月份，福特公司将机器人从研究和培训机构中转移到密歇根州斯特林高地的一家实际变速箱工厂。

“We’re working to get Scouter and Fluffy to work together, so that Fluffy will ride on top of Scouter, and go around and do the scans, and then when Scouter can’t get into a tight spot, we’ll release the hounds,” he says.

“我们正在努力使Scouter和Fluffy一起工作，以便Fluffy可以骑在Scouter的顶部，并进行扫描，然后当Scouter无法进入狭窄区域时，我们将释放猎犬。”他说。

Boston Dynamics’s Michael Perry says this is not an uncommon request, and so the company has been working to accommodate what he calls “robot teaming.”

波士顿动力公司的迈克尔·佩里说，这并非罕见，因此该公司一直在努力适应他所谓的“机器人团队”。

In May, the company announced a new API, so that its partners can teach Spot new tricks, such as autonomous navigation. Perry says customers can also program Spot to coordinate with other robots or integrate with robot fleet management systems.

今年5月，该公司宣布了新的API，以便其合作伙伴可以教授Spot的新技巧，例如自主导航。 佩里说，客户还可以对Spot编程，使其与其他机器人协调或与机器人车队管理系统集成。

“It turns out that customers like Ford have been deploying mobile robots in their facilities, but they’ve not been able to get the full coverage that they need, partly because of terrain challenges,” he says. “And that’s where this notion of pairing robots together is so powerful.”

他说：“事实证明，像福特这样的客户已经在他们的设施中部署了移动机器人，但由于地形方面的挑战，他们无法获得所需的全部覆盖范围。” “这就是将机器人配对在一起的概念如此强大的地方。”

机器的崛起 (Rise of the Machines)

The push for industrial use represents a pivot of sorts for Boston Dynamics, which is best-known for making DARPA-funded robots with potential military applications, such as BigDog and Atlas. (The company was acquired by Google in 2013, then sold to the Japanese holding company Softbank four years later.) Although Boston Dynamics is still developing Atlas as a way to research robotic movements, it’s no longer doing research or development for DARPA, and it’s pushing Spot as its first truly commercial product.

工业用途的推动代表了Boston Dynamics的各种枢纽，该公司以制造DARPA资助的具有潜在军事应用的机器人(例如BigDog和Atlas)而闻名。 (该公司于2013年被Google收购，然后在四年后出售给日本控股公司Softbank。)尽管Boston Dynamics仍在开发Atlas作为研究机器人运动的一种方式，但它不再为DARPA进行研发。将Spot推为其第一个真正的商业产品。

There’s a sense that the company is trying to make its robots seem a little less menacing in the process. Earlier this month, Spot served as a cheerleader for a baseball team, and last week served as a backup dancer for the Japanese composer and programmer Daito Manabe and the performing arts group Rhizomatiks on NHK Songs, a music show in Japan. Spot’s dance moves aren’t new, but it’s increasingly performing them outside of the lab.

从某种意义上说，该公司正试图使它的机器人在此过程中的威胁看起来有所减轻。 本月初，Spot担任棒球队的啦啦队长 ，上周在日本音乐节目NHK Songs上担任日本作曲家兼程序员Daito Manabe和表演艺术团体Rhizomatiks 的替补舞蹈演员 。 Spot的舞步并不是什么新鲜事物 ，但它正在实验室外进行表演。

And in case the idea of a robotic dog teaming up with other bots still makes you nervous, Boston Dynamics insists outright that Spot won’t become a killer pack animal. While the company does not rule out police or military applications such as bomb detection or hazmat response, its terms of service forbid using the robot for harm, threats, or intimidation, and it’s not allowed to even hold a weapon.

万一机器狗与其他机器人联手的想法仍然让您感到紧张，波士顿动力公司坚决主张Spot不会成为杀手pack 。 尽管该公司不排除炸弹检测或危险品React等警察或军事应用，但其服务条款禁止使用该机器人造成伤害，威胁或恐吓，甚至不允许携带武器。

“In order for the robot to beneficial long-term, it has to be able to be trusted,” Perry says.

佩里说：“为了使机器人能够长期受益，它必须能够被信任。”