[L’industrie c’est fou] Spot, the quadruped robot from Boston Dynamics, becomes a construction inspector

It is often said that the dog is man’s best friend. It might well become that of building professionals. On the site of a real estate program developing 86,000 square meters of floor space over 10 hectares in St-André-lez-Lille (Nord), the Spot robot, designed by the American company Boston Dynamics, evolved among the workers during a test phase. We had seen him on an oil rig in Norway, here he is now having a job interview. Overcoming obstacles, climbing stairs, walking on welded mesh… so many challenges that the quadruped took up with flying colors, according to Bouygues Bâtiment Nord-Est.

Ultimately, the goal is “to integrate the BIM model into his program and let him roam the site independently to scan the works in 3D. These readings will make it possible to follow in real time and with great precision the progress of the construction site”, explains the company, which worked in collaboration with the teams of the Construction 4.0 industrial research chair, which combines the Ecole Centrale de Lille (Nord) and Bouygues Construction. The idea is also to carry out 3D scans of spaces that are difficult to access or dangerous for personnel, as well as to detect faults thanks to its numerous integrated sensors.

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Programmable inspection missions

The robot can take 360-degree photos and videos, and collect information into 3D data that can be linked to digital twins. Autonomous missions can be programmed. Able to carry payloads of up to 14 kg, it is also capable of carrying out topographical surveys.

In Canada, in 2020, a construction company had started using Spot. “A robot that will move around the construction site to take photos at predefined locations with a camera connected to HoloBuilder, a documentation platform that allows comparisons with virtual design and construction software”, explained at the time Pomerleau, who also intended to take the opportunity to assign his teams to tasks with greater added value. Tests had already been carried out in Japan.

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For the first time, Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot is used on a construction site

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