Boston Dynamics, the robot-focused subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, is expanding its market by supplying robot products to a range of industrial sites.
According to the robotics industry on the 28th, Boston Dynamics is supplying its quadruped robot "Spot" to the German cement company "Heidelberg Materials." The "robot dog" Spot is deployed at cement plants, where it autonomously moves inside buildings to monitor machines and detect signs of anomalies early.
Robot dogs are also deployed in whisky aging warehouses. Boston Dynamics is conducting a pilot project in collaboration with the global spirits company Bacardi to use "Spot." According to Bacardi, "Spot" is equipped with a robot sensing kit developed by the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and travels along designated routes inside whisky aging warehouses to detect ethanol vapor concentrations. If the pilot project proves successful, its use will expand to other inspection tasks, contributing to increased efficiency.
The role of quadruped robots is also growing in the defense field. Boston Dynamics signed a contract to supply 19 Spot robot dogs to the Ministry of National Defense in the Netherlands. They are expected to detect and handle explosives, protecting the safety of military personnel and improving operational mobility.
In particular, in the defense field, robot dogs are used in various ways around the world. Ghost Robotics' robot dog "Vision 60" is actually being used in the United States, Israel and Japan for base perimeter security, patrols, and search and rescue. In the United Kingdom, it is used for hazardous area exploration and delivery of supplies, and in India, it plays a role in reconnaissance and disaster rescue.
Vision 60 can be equipped with mission-specific gear and is designed for sectional disassembly to allow restoration and repair of damaged parts. LIG Nex1 acquired a 40% equity stake in Ghost Robotics for $240 million (about 354.6 billion won) last year, and the companies are also working closely together in the development of manned-unmanned teaming combat systems.
Rainbow Robotics' RBQ series of quadruped robots was selected last month as one of the "Korea's 10 machine technologies of the year." Rainbow Robotics carried out a demonstration project for a robot dog performing patrol duties at a Korea District Heating Corporation construction site.
Han Jae-gwon, a professor in the Department of Robotics at Hanyang University, said, "Quadruped robots are at a stage where technology development is complete, and there are a variety of discussions about where they will be used," adding, "Basically, there is strong demand in rough environments."
Han also said, "In China and the United States, they have already been introduced in the defense field and will be introduced in Korea soon," adding, "Like drones in the Russia-Ukraine war, robots—and robot dogs in particular—will play a bigger role in the next war." Han added, "The key issue is the high price, but if prices come down, there will be sufficient demand and the market could grow further."
Yang Seung-yun, a senior analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "A quadruped robot is a mobile hardware platform, and depending on what software is installed, it gains scalability for introduction into different fields," adding, "Currently, it is in an early stage of use for simple tasks such as surveillance by mounting cameras and sensors or detecting hazardous gases."
Yang added, "From a locomotion perspective, it has the advantage of being more stable than humanoids, but it is still quite noisy when moving, and hardware improvements are needed, such as how much additional payload it can support."
Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter recently said the company is discussing a "national robotics strategy" with the U.S. government.