At Barrnon we’re always looking to the future, exploring new innovations and efficient ways of working, while ensuring our employees stay safe. We have a three-pillar mantra: “Faster, Safer, Cheaper.” Well, this week we were asked to solve a problem involving Boston Dynamics’ Spot the robot dog, which is being used to inspect a nuclear facility at Sellafield.
Barrnon Project Manager Robert Webb said: “A client came to us with a problem regarding Spot the robot dog and we’ve achieved a lot in less than a week.” For those who don’t know, Spot is not like any dog you’ve seen before – he was launched in Jun 2020, has a shiny yellow coat, is bandy legged and has a zoom camera for a head. But he’s most certainly working like a dog, carrying out critical safety inspections at substations and plants, without the need for lengthy shut-downs.
Spot’s chief engineer, Zack Jackowski, says researchers are making strides in their long-term efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into Spot.
The client approached Barrnon in September, wanting to do more work in the nuclear environment. In order to do that, it was told staff would have to wear high levels of PPE such as layers of gloves – with fiddly tools and sensors. Barrnon created an interface to put the sensors on and off while wearing PPE — and a saddle to help carry sensors on a rapid interchange system. “From conversation to concept, to design, to detailed design and manufacture — 5 days and happy customer.” added Robert.