He has had several viral successes on social networks. He inspired a slightly disturbing episode of the anticipation series Black mirror. It embodies a new generation of technological solutions aimed at increasing business productivity. And he recently took his first steps in Quebec: Spot, the robot-dog from the American company Boston Dynamics.
Robotization is perceived by several industrial sectors as a lasting solution to the shortage of manpower and as a means of increasing the productivity of certain operations where earnings are more difficult, in factories, on construction sites or in mines, for example.
Scenting for a good deal, Montreal business application developer Osedea has acquired a copy of Spot, which is retailing for US $ 75,000.
Spot is an advanced computing device that can move on all fours. Many internet users have seen him in action in various contexts on YouTube in recent months: he can climb stairs, dodge large rocks, open doors and leap over fences.
It is equipped with an articulated arm, a camera and various sensors that make it a small mobile and versatile robot that can attract the attention of some companies interested in the digital shift that is taking place in several industries these days. .
Tailored
This digital shift is largely based on the collection of information that is generally done using objects connected to the Internet. Spot is in a way a connected object that is both mobile and semi-autonomous … on condition that you have developed the right applications so that it can accomplish its mission within the company that decides to adopt it.
This is where Osedea (pronounced “dare-de-ah”) comes into play. The Montreal business application specialist offers its customers to try Spot without having to buy it, and obviously offers them customized digital tools to use it properly.
“We see applications in sectors as varied as manufacturing, mining, construction and health,” enumerates Thierry Marcoux, director of business development for Osedea. Many of our customers are affected by a staff shortage and see automation as a solution to this problem. We will therefore see the emergence of many robots in business over the next few years. Spot is for those who want to be ahead of the parade. »Spot is sold with several optional accessories, but there is one which is essential: its remote control. An operator can operate it remotely, but it was originally designed by Boston Dynamics to be relatively autonomous.
Once programmed, it can travel a pre-agreed route itself and when its battery shows a little low charge, it can head to its terminal to refuel itself.
Along the way, its sensors take all kinds of readings that can be sent on the spot to computer servers. With the right algorithms, the company that employs it can therefore instantly follow, or over a longer period of time, the evolution of air quality, the condition of an underground pipe or any other. a parameter that is important in the daily life of its workers, explains Thierry Marcoux.
“Artificial intelligence, to function well, needs the right data and what we believe is that a mobile robot like Spot is able to collect very precise data,” he says. Other companies use static sensors or drones, but Spot in its quadrupedal form could be used in hundreds of scenarios, Marcoux believes.
Osedea will also be carrying out various pilot projects over the next few weeks to illustrate the potential of its four-legged robot.
Useful on construction sites
His arrival at Osedea isn’t the only appearance of Boston Dynamics’ robot-dog – of which Korean giant Hyundai became the largest shareholder earlier this year – in Canada. The construction companies PCL and Pomerleau have had their own copy of this mechanized quadruped since 2019 and are already using it on some sites.
Equipped with a 360-degree camera, GPS sensors and other electronic accessories, this Spot scours construction sites to test air quality and certain other parameters associated with the health and safety of workers present on the site. these sites.
The Pomerleau and PCL Spot will also visit the office tower project at 160 Front Street West in Toronto by Toronto giant Cadillac Fairview in the coming weeks. These tours are run jointly with a technology company affiliated with Microsoft and Intel called Lazio, which specializes in connected objects for the industrial sector.
A lucrative market to seize
Before the pandemic, these connected objects, devices equipped with various sensors and an Internet connection that allow them to transmit in real time to a data center a host of indicators on the progress of industrial processes of all kinds, were heralded as the next big technological revolution in business. The acceleration of the digital shift over the past two years and a significant post-pandemic labor shortage has rekindled interest in these devices.
According to the specialized firm Meticulous Research, industrial connected objects could represent an investment sector worth US $ 260 billion by 2027.
It is not for nothing that it interests players from all walks of life … including manufacturers of automated quadrupeds.