BMW Employs Robot Watchdog At UK Factory

A four-legged robot hound named SpOTTO is newly employed as a “watchdog” at BMW’s Group Plant Hams Hall in the UK. The autonomous robotic dog scans the plant, supports maintenance, and ensures production processes run smoothly. Equipped with visual, thermal, and acoustic sensors, SpOTTO serves as a watchdog, as well as overseeing maintenance of production facilities and collecting valuable data for the plant's digital systems. SpOTTO was originally created by Boston Dynamics with the product name Spot. It is a nimble robot small enough to use indoors, that climbs stairs and traverses rough terrain with ease. Spot was renamed SpOTTO after Gustav Otto, one of the founders of BMW and son of Nicolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. Thanks to its visual, thermal, and acoustic sensors, SpOTTO is able to perform numerous maintenance tasks. For instance, he monitors the temperature of manufacturing equipment and immediately recognises if an installation is running too hot. SpOTTO also plays a pivotal role in creating and refining the plant's fully connected ‘digital twin’ - which it feeds data into. In addition to Hams Hall, other BMW Group plants are also currently testing the use of robotic dogs.