Key Insight

Quadrupedal robots have four articulated legs and can move around difficult terrain, making them useful tools for inspections and security applications.

Why It Matters

By emulating the form and mobility of four-legged animals, these robots can be deployed in situations that wheeled or tread-equipped robots cannot navigate, and that may be too dangerous or physically inaccessible for human intervention.

Examples

In October 2019, a quadruped from Boston Dynamics went on sale. The robot, named Spot, looks like a headless dog and moves with the agility and athleticism of a border collie. Spot can map environments, move around difficult terrain and interact with a range of different objects.

What’s Next

The ecosystem is still forming, but as developers build applications across different industries we expect to see new use cases emerge, particularly in safety, security, maintenance, emergency response, military, and even consumer contexts.

The Impact

For now, Boston Dynamics is the only company selling advanced robots like Spot for commercial, non-military purposes. Still, we believe this is a trend worth following closely for its potential effect across industries.

Watchlist

Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Fetch Robotics, Genesis Robotics, Google, Honda, Microsoft, NVIDIA, SoftBank, Sony, UBTech, Universal Robots.