Watch: Robot guard dog employed at Jaguar Land Rover factory
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has recruited an unlikely new member of staff to its factory floor – a robotic guard dog it is calling Rover.
Rover is in use at the car maker’s electric vehicle (EV) build-and-test facility in Coventry as a guard “of critical importance” to help spot “potential operational issues” and ensure that the facility delivers the new Range Rover Electric on time.
Created by Boston Dynamics, the US robotics firm, Rover has its own “kennel” at the plant where it tops up its 50-volt battery between shifts.
JLR says that unlike a normal canine, Rover “doesn’t get distracted by loud sounds, unusual sights or smells” and so makes the perfect watchdog for the hi-tech site.
Gonzalo Ejarque-Rinaldini, a project manager for automation and robotics at JLR, said: “Enabling our engineers to work safer and smarter, collaborations such as this one with Boston Dynamics are key.
He said the collaboration was “essential” to JLR’s “ambition to electrify our Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar brands by 2030” and would help ensure the cars had the “very best EV battery technology”.
The robot can use autonomous intelligence to open doors, climb stairs and move through high-traffic areas. It can follow a range of pre-set routes to patrol wide areas of the Coventry facility.
With four legs and a robot arm, it can use its sensors to “listen” for potential gas leaks that humans would not be able to detect.
JLR said it wanted to build up a fleet of “robot quadrupeds” across its operations.
The brand is to launch its new Range Rover Electric shortly and will soon introduce an electric four-door Jaguar GT car with a range of up to 435 miles a charge.