BMW is using a robot dog to detect problems in the brand’s factory in the UK. This is SpOTTO, a product of Boston Dynamics, a company acquired by Hyundai in 2020, and one of the leading experts in robots with humanoid or four-legged shapes.
The BMW production unit in the UK produces 400,000 BMW and Mini TwinPower turbo engines per year, and SpOTTO’s function is to keep the machines in good condition and anticipate any kind of problem.
For this, the robot dog uses visual, thermal, and acoustic sensors to detect problems such as equipment temperature, anticipating a possible failure. In addition, it is able to detect breaks in the compressed air lines used in the production line.
SpOTTO was created by Boston Dynamics under the product name « Spot ». It is an agile robot, small enough to be used in indoor environments, that can climb stairs and cross rough terrain with ease.
BMW a révélé que le nouveau chien robot a été nommé SpOTTO en l’honneur de Gustav Otto, l’un des fondateurs de BMW, ainsi que de son fils Nicolaus, l’inventeur du moteur à combustion interne à quatre temps.
Considéré comme une technologie permettant d’anticiper les problèmes sur la ligne de production, SpOTTO a également pour mission de collecter des données qui contribuent à garantir la qualité et la planification de la production.
