Boston Dynamics releases video of Spot robot dog dancing to BTS

Boston Dynamics has released two incredible videos of its famous robotic dog, Spot, pulling off some very impressive dance moves.

The first clip shows seven Spot robots performing a highly choreographed dance in union to the music of South Korean K-pop sensation BTS.

In a second bit of footage released by the Boston-based firm Spot is seen meeting and showing the boy band its competent dance moves. 

Boston Dynamics said the videos are ‘in celebration’ of its full acquisition by South Korean motor company Hyundai, which was announced last week.  

In the first video, the seven Spots are dancing to the band’s 2020 song ‘IONIQ: I’m On It’. 

Shooting the video was an unprecedented technical challenge, according to Eric Whitman, a Boston Dynamics roboticist. 

‘There were a lot of challenges around getting the vision of our choreographer, who’s used to dealing with human dancers, into our software,’ said Whitman in a Boston Dynamics blog post. 

‘Everything had to be worked out in advance and scripted precisely. Robots have the advantage over humans in that they’re very repeatable – once you get it right, it stays right. 

‘But they have the disadvantage that you have to tell them every little detail. They don’t improvise at all.’ 

In time with the music, the seven Spot’s arms shoot out into a fluid series of patterns, giving the appearance of a single, many-armed robot ‘peacocking for the camera’, the firm says. 

Finally, the seven Spots separate, synchronising their steps and appearing to play off of one another’s dance moves. 

In the second video where Spot meets the band, another Boston Dynamics robot, called Atlas, also makes an appearance. 

Atlas is a scary six-foot-tall bipedal humanoid robot, but arguably dances better than the members of BTS. 

This isn’t Spot’s first foray onto the dance floor – in 2018, Spot ‘strutted its stuff’ to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ 2014 smash hit ‘Uptown Funk’. 

And last year Spot joined Atlas and Handle, another Boston Dynamics robot, in a dance performance to the 1962 Motown classic ‘Do You Love Me’ by The Contours.

Getting Spot to dance actually serves a purpose, according to the firm – it gives its mechanical design and algorithms in the software a bit of a workout.     

But the videos are also a bit of light relief from the notoriously secretive Boston firm, whose robot dog is commercially available and costs a whopping $75,000 (about £60,000).

It can be used for a range of heavy duty applications, including inspecting rocket launch test sites, as demonstrated by SpaceX.  

It’s also being deployed in the French army, helping military school personnel to complete training scenarios. 

Spot, which is suited for indoor or outdoor use, can map its environment, sense and avoid obstacles, climb stairs and open doors. 

It can undertake hazardous tasks in a variety of inhospitable environments such as nuclear plants, offshore oil fields and construction sites.    

The nimble, four-legged robotic dog was announced by Boston Dynamics back in 2016 but was under development by the firm for years before being released commercially on June 17, 2020.   

Spot has specifically been designed for business use – in fact, when a business buys a Spot unit, they have to acknowledge a stipulation in the terms and conditions that ‘it’s not certified safe for in-home use or intended for use near children’. 

However, Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert previously said that Spot will soon be available for home use. 

‘We also have a project that I’m sure many of you are going to be very interested in, and that’s cleaning up your house,’ he said in 2020. 

‘Now, Spot isn’t available yet for home use, but someday it will be. 

‘I think you’re going to love the idea that the robot can be put in a room and use its vision system to identify your kids’ clothing that’s been lying around.’ 

Boston Dynamics’ CEO Rob Playter said that the company had sold around 400 Spot units as of February 2021. 

Boston Dynamics’ technology is probably best known for inspiring a standout episode of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian Netflix series ‘Black Mirror’. 

In the 2017 episode, called ‘Metalhead’, people in the near future flee from an army of robotic dogs that ruthlessly hunt down humans. 

But not to worry – Boston Dynamics reassured that it will not support uses of Spot that ‘harm or intimidate’ people which includes banning the attachment of weapons. 

The firm hasn’t ruled out selling Spot to security firms, for example, or further law enforcement trials, however. 

Back in February, Spot unveiled a new product line for Spot – a self-charging version of the dog, called Enterprise Spot; Spot Arm, a fifth limb that can grasp, carry and drag different objects; and a web-based remote operations software, called Scout. 

Boston Dynamics said potential customers can purchase Spot Enterprise, Scout and Spot Arm via its sales team, although it didn’t disclose prices.