Bringing robots from the lab to the real world

Engineers and robotics fans can engage with robots in the lab and workshop all day. It's a very long way from a ridiculously cool and glorified science experiment to robots that can be put to work in production environments. These robots often have to work in some of the toughest conditions imaginable: defusing bombs, roaming the corridors of nuclear power plants, or working high in the air to make sure our power lines stay in good shape.

As part of today's TC Sessions: Robotics event, I spoke with Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, and Kiva Allgood, CEO of Sarcos Technology and Robotics, to understand how they are evolving and develop their organizations to help their robotics in the real world.

The Sarcos Guardian XT can sit on any imp or any platform and can do things that are too dangerous for humans. Image credits: Sarcos (opens in a new window)

Sarcos Technology and Robotics has been making a lot of noise for expanding its product line. The company offers three flagship products. The first is an exoskeleton that pairs with a human to allow them to do things that humans cannot normally do. Next is the Guardian XT, which is a very dexterous teleoperated product that works particularly well for overhead tasks. There is also the Guardian S, which is a remote inspection robot.

Robot Stretch by Boston Dynamics. Image credits: Boston Dynamics.

Boston Dynamics has three robots it currently builds and sells; two of the three are available for purchase. Spot is the one you are probably most familiar with; it's the dog-like one you might have seen on the TechCrunch scene in the past. Stretch is a mobile pick and pack robot the company is building specifically for the logistics industry – its first use case will be...