机器狗Spot。
波士顿动力，那是个以仿生机器人而闻名的公司，升级了他们的经典机器狗Spot。
最近，波士顿动力掀开了新版预售机器狗Spot Enterprise的神秘面纱。比起经典款，它增加了一个自充板，远程遥控功能，以及一条新的手臂，使Spot可以完成一些手工任务，比如开门、捡东西。
对于普通家庭还是过分昂贵了
在简介视频里，这个自主机器人展示了其头部连接的一个蛇形“手臂”。这个“手臂”让Spot可以把地上的东西捡起来，并放进背上的篮子里，还可以抓住门把并开门。为了展示Spot神奇的灵敏性，视频中展示了两只新型机器狗用手臂晃动绳子，而一只Spot在中间跳绳的场景。
所以，有手臂的Spot“可以找到并捡起物体（比如说垃圾），整理客厅，开门，打开或关上开关和阀门，做园艺和逗人开心。”波士顿动力表示。Spot的手臂上有一个扣子可以打开、锁紧和旋转，使得Spot可以举起、运输、拖拽和放置许多种类的物品，但它比人类还是少了些协调和灵活性，不能抓住一些形状奇怪或不熟悉的物品。
虽然这个新版Spot可以承担一些家务，但他对于普通家庭还是过分昂贵了。波士顿动力没有披露价格，但它的前一版，Spot Explorer，仅能走路的机器狗，售价74500美金，并需要等待六周才能送达。
波士顿动力有了新老板
波士顿动力说，Spot已经在全球销售超过400个。主要是运用于一些对于人类过于危险的工作，比如那些在核电站、海上油田、建筑工地和矿井的工作。
根据纽约邮报报道，Spot用来提升新冠疫情期间的治疗，协助医生接触隔离中的病人。为此，这些Spot安装了摄像头和屏幕，方便医生问诊隔离中的病人。“在疫情早期，我们想要通过减少与潜在感染者的接触来保护医疗人员的健康。”Giovanni Traverso说道。他是麻省理工电子工程系的助理教授，也是这个项目的参与者。现在，波士顿动力有了一个新老板：现代。但现在来评论波士顿动力是否会利于现代的发展还为时过早。现代已经成立了一些机器人部门研究可穿戴设备、服务型机器人和微型智能设备。
这已经是波士顿第三次易主了。2013年，谷歌买下了波士顿动力，那时这公司还没有销售任何产品。四年以后，搜索巨头就把它卖给了软银。
采写：实习生 郭文伊 南都记者 蒋模婷
Boston Dynamics adds an ‘arm’ to its robotic dog Spot
Boston Dynamics， the company best known for animal-like machines， has upgraded its classic robotic dog Spot.
Recently， the company unveiled an order-ready version of the four-legged gadget called Spot Enterprise， complete with a self-charging dock， remote operating capabilities and an add-on arm that enables the machine to perform manual tasks such as opening doors and picking up objects.
In a demonstration video， the autonomous machine is shown with a snake-like attachment tethered to its head. The “arm” enables Spot to grip items on the ground and place them in a basket on its back. It also enables the robot to turn door handles and open doors. In a bizarre display of agility， two of the new animatrons use their arms to swing a jump rope while another Spot robot bounces up and down in the middle.
Spot Arm “finds and picks up objects (trash)， tidies up the living room， opens doors， operates switches and valves， tends the garden and generally has fun，” Boston Dynamics said.
The arm has a clasp that can open， shut and rotate， enabling the robot to lift， carry， drag and place a wide variety of objects， but it falls short of human-like dexterity， an unmet robotics challenge that would allow machines to grasp and manipulate oddly shaped and unfamiliar objects.
While the latest version of the robot can conduct more household tasks， it’s far too expensive for the average household. Boston Dynamics wouldn’t reveal pricing. However， its previous iteration， Spot Explorer， walks right out of the box and sells for $74，500. Shipping takes up to six weeks.
Boston Dynamics said it has sold 400 units around the world thus far. And the machine is primarily bought by companies that use the robots to conduct tasks that are too dangerous for humans， such as work around nuclear plants， offshore oil fields， construction sites and mines.
Spot is also used to advance medical treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing a new connection between patients in isolation and doctors who need to see them. Spot is designed to help evaluations by having the canine machine with a video camera， which is connected to a physician， visit patients who need to be isolated， the New York Post reported.
“Early on in the pandemic we wanted to help protect the health-care workforce from the virus by limiting their exposure to potentially COVID-infected patients，” said Giovanni Traverso， a Massachusetts Institute of Technology assistant professor of mechanical engineering who worked on the project.
Now， Boston Dynamics is getting a new owner： Hyundai. But it’s too soon to tell how the development would benefit Hyundai. Hyundai already had a robotics division that worked on wearable technology， service robots and micro-mobility.
The deal with Hyundai represents the third time Boston Dynamics has changed hands in seven years. Google bought the firm in 2013. At the time， the robotics company wasn’t selling a product. The search giant sold it to Soft Bank four years later.
