Four-Legged Spot Robot Costs More Than a Porsche, Sales Start

There are three variants of the Spot available. The one intended for general use is called Explorer and has been designed “for developers eager to explore how flexible mobile robots can be adapted for tasks ranging from industrial inspection to entertainment.”

For $74,500, Spot Explorer ships ready to run right out of the box, and if need be can be customized for whatever task its owners have in mind for it. It comes with 2 batteries, a charger, a tablet controller, a case for storage and transportation, and software updates when they become available.

With no payload, the Explorer has a running time of 90 minutes, or can wait to be commanded to do something for 180 minutes on idle. Once depleted, the 605 Wh battery needs two hours to be recharged. When in operation, Spot can carry up to 14 kg (30.9 lbs) of whatever cargo.

The $74,500 selling price is just the starting point for a machine that can get extremely expensive. Fully loaded, with things like color cameras, LIDAR, and a better CPU, the Explorer can end up costing over $150,000.

Boston Dynamics offers two other variants of the Spot, for use by enterprises and academic. Prices for them are only available upon request.

Because of its capabilities, the robot is likely to sell much better than we might think, as it can be used for a variety of purposes. Just don’t expect to see it play fetch in the back yard with the kids next door.