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Spot the Robot

Tabuk, KSA
Home / Portfolio / Programming, Project Management, Robotics

1. Experience

If I had to be honest I argued against spot. I didn't and still dont see the value. The situation I found myself in was poorly managed, 10 spots were ordered, only 5 came. They required "extra" equipment/hardware to "function" properly, which weren't ordered. Then dumped on me to figure how to implement them into live projects...
Boston Dynamics were great though, support wasn't really there but they explained that this was not the way to go about implementing thier product.

2. Work

I was given 2 weeks to get something workable, we blitzed through the examples in 2 days and finally got spot to bark on command. Yea, I downloaded dog barking sounds and loaded them into spot. Requests for support were fired off and not responed too, I tried to get the live feed from a 360 camera mounted to sport top mount. Unsuccessfully. The idea being to load my CV model onto it and make it bark at people that weren't wearing full safety equipment.

3. Result

It couldn't walk around unaided, no matter which environment we put it in. We tested all over a 26,500 km² area. From desert to half built constructions. Disclaimer we were told that the 360 camera mount wasn't enough and that we needed "extra" components for it to work properly. Simply put its a development platform on 4 legs.
Drones I believe would be a much better solution, lots of tiny little drones...




Project Details

Client: AECOM

Date: 12th August, 2019

Online: https://www.aecom.com

At AECOM, we believe infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone. Whether it’s improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water or transforming skylines, infrastructure powers possibilities to help people and communities thrive.
Across the globe, our clients in the public and private sectors count on us to take on the most complex challenges and pioneer innovative solutions that push the limits of what’s possible – the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge, record-breaking sports events, the largest greenfield port development mega project, life-sustaining disaster recovery programs, and the tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere.