{"id":9961,"date":"2022-06-02T15:02:34","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T13:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/?p=9961"},"modified":"2026-04-30T14:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:53:28","slug":"spot-by-boston-dynamics-a-robot-dog-suited-to-train-inspection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/en\/spot-by-boston-dynamics-a-robot-dog-suited-to-train-inspection\/","title":{"rendered":"Spot, by Boston Dynamics: a robot dog suited to train inspection?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"9961\" class=\"elementor elementor-9961\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-73523b0d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"73523b0d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7718fe81\" data-id=\"7718fe81\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a0de6a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6a0de6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><\/p>\n<p>To <strong>make life easier for its employees<\/strong>, SNCF regularly tests robotics solutions already available on the market in addition to customised robotic platforms, to see how they may serve the railway industry. Trains, and the railway network in general, must be constantly monitored and inspected to carry out <strong>maintenance tasks and ensure user safety<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2022, SNCF called on G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Robots to find out whether the <a href=\"\/en\/403823-spot-enterprise-package.html\" title=\"Spot Enterprise Package\"><strong>Spot robot<\/strong><\/a> could effectively carry out inspections on <strong>double-decker Transilien trains<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Spot?<\/h2>\n<p>Spot is designed to be able to move up and down stairs, unlike mobile wheeled robots.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Its functionalities can be easily enhanced using various add-ons <a title=\"Spot from Boston Dynamics: robot and payloads\" href=\"\/en\/527-spot-from-boston-dynamics-an-autonomous-four-legged-robot\">(payloads)<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Colour vision in low-light conditions<\/li>\n<li>SDK access and custom application development<\/li>\n<li>Panoramic view<\/li>\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Particularly agile and robust, it is capable of climbing up and down stairs, either autonomously <strong>or by remote control<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Max. payload: 14 kg<\/li>\n<li>Average runtime: 90 min.<\/li>\n<li>Max. step height: 300 mm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>It is a robust, highly agile and versatile robot that can accomplish a wide range of tasks:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Exploration<\/li>\n<li>Surveillance and security<\/li>\n<li>Inspection<\/li>\n<li>Mapping<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What could Spot do for SNCF?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Train disinfection<\/li>\n<li>End-of-line passenger presence control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The test and conclusions<\/h2>\n<p>The aim was to test Spot <strong>in a real-world environment<\/strong>, in double-decker Transilien trains (Z2N) at the Saint-Pierre-des-Corps industrial technical centre.<\/p>\n<p>The team on site consisted of <strong>Mathis Godard<\/strong>, robotics engineer at G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Robots, <strong>Louis-Romain Joly<\/strong>, head of the Robots &amp; Humans programme, and <strong>Clara Cussaget<\/strong>, robotics engineer at SNCF\u2019s Technology, Innovation and Group Projects Department.<\/p>\n<p>The robot was perfectly capable of moving around both levels of the trains\u2019 coaches and carrying out its inspection tasks with its camera. However, the seats are set just 60 cm apart, whereas Spot needs 65 cm to move around autonomously (with the obstacle detection feature activated).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tests performed:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Passage of the robot between two vertically placed pallets to determine the minimum width required <strong>(65 cm<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Fastening of a water-filled canister on the robot to see if the water\u2019s movement affected that of the robot <strong>(no)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Going up and down steps to see if the robot moves at the same speed as on a flat surface <strong>(possible)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A four-legged robot is perfectly suited to such an environment and to inspections of double-decker trains. Unfortunately, Spot\u2019s current dimensions are incompatible with the Transilien Z2N trains.<\/p><p><br \/><\/p><p><b>Update July 2024: the firmware of the Spot robot is frequently updated. If the Spot robot were to undergo the same tests again now, there would be significant progress in their success.<\/b><br \/><\/p>\n<figure><video controls=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/spot-robot-sncf-trains-2-niveaux-tests-pour-inspection-1.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n<p>                                    <!-- .entry-content --><br \/>\n<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e63f652 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"e63f652\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-76d42b47 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"76d42b47\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-55c8703\" data-id=\"55c8703\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14b5dd5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"14b5dd5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Spot Enterprise Package<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-293eaa72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"293eaa72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.generation-robots.com\/img\/robot-spot-boston-dynamics.jpg\" title=\"\" alt=\"Spot Enterprise Package\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b62fa72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2b62fa72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul>\n<li><strong>14 kg<\/strong> payload<\/li>\n<li>360\u00b0 perception with its <strong>5 pairs of cameras<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Speed of <strong>5.7 km\/h<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>90 minutes<\/strong> of autonomy<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u00b130\u00b0<\/strong> climbing capacity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-21334d06 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"21334d06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"\/en\/403823-spot-enterprise-package.html#\/202-charging_dock-without_charging_dock\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">More information<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To make life easier for its employees, SNCF regularly tests robotics solutions already available on the market in addition to customised robotic platforms, to see how they may serve the railway industry. Trains, and the railway network in general, must be constantly monitored and inspected to carry out maintenance tasks and ensure user safety. In[&#8230;]<br \/> <a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/en\/spot-by-boston-dynamics-a-robot-dog-suited-to-train-inspection\/\" style=\"float:right;\">Read this article &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":9952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-cases-applications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/188"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9961"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23323,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9961\/revisions\/23323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.generationrobots.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}