In September, Boston Dynamics announced that their creepy robot dog, Spot, would finally be available for purchase and that one of its core applications would be for construction. We had an idea of how Spot could be used on the jobsite, but HoloBuilder is one of the first to market after their announcement made just yesterday.
HoloBuilder is a 360-degree photo documentation software used for the construction quality control and progress reporting. On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, they formally announced a partnership with Boston Dynamics with the release of SpotWalk, a completely autonomous way to capture photos around your jobsite.
SpotWalk enables the Spot robot to capture images around the site by itself, in one of two different ways:
1. Spot can be “driven” around the jobsite by way of a smartphone application
2. It can be programmed to walk in a trained path autonomously
As a reminder, Spot has a battery life of 90 minutes before needing to be recharged and can climb stairs, right itself if it tips over, and even open doors. Combined with SpotWalk, you company may never have a gap in photo documentation again.
“With SpotWalk, we can now enable our customers to capture data much more frequently and more precisely to get an even clearer picture of what the site’s progress is. We are very excited to release SpotWalk and to continue our very positive collaboration with Boston Dynamics to not only support the industry but to also drive digitization and automation forward,” said Christian Claus, CMO and Head of Partnerships at HoloBuilder, in a press release.
As part of the partnership, both Boston Dynamics and HoloBuilder are looking to work with innovative companies that can provide feedback on the program. Those selected will be a part of a 6-month early adopter program, which will provide the partner two Spot robots, the full HoloBuilder suite, and on-site training.
Hensel Phelps is currently using SpotWalk at their $1.2 billion San Francisco airport project and you can check out some of the footage of Spot in action on that jobsite in the video below:
In the midst of fierce discourse over the bipartisan infrastructure bill lies a unique opportunity for the United States.